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HUMAN   BULLETS 


HUMAN  BULLETS 

A  SOLDIER'S  STORY  OF  PORT  ARTHUR 

BY 

TADAYOSHI  SAKURAI 

LIEUTENANT    I.  J.  A. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  COUNT  OKUMA 

TRANSLATED    BY  EDITED    BY 

MASUJIRO   HONDA  ALICE  MABEL  BACON 


BOSTON   AND   NEW   YORK 
HOUGHTON,   MIFFLIN   AND    COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT    1907    BY   HOUGHTON,    MIFFLIN   AND   COMPANY 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 

Published  October  iqarj 


CONTENTS 

EDITOR'S    PREFACE  vu 

INTRODUCTION    BY    COUNT   OKUMA  ix 

AUTHOR'S    PREFACE  xiii 

I.    MOBILIZATION  3 

II.    OUR  DEPARTURE  14 

III.  THE  VOYAGE  22 

IV.  A  DANGEROUS  LANDING  27 
V.   THE  VALUE  OF  PORT  ARTHUR                          .       37 

VI.   THE  BATTLE  OF  NANSHAN  42 

VII.   NANSHAN  AFTER  THE  BATTLE  52 

VIII.   DIGGING  AND  SCOUTING  63 

IX.   THE  FIRST  CAPTIVES  70 

X.    OUR  FIRST  BATTLE  AT  WAITU-SHAN  77 

XI.    THE  OCCUPATION  OF  KENZAN  84 

XII.    COUNTER-ATTACKS  ON  KENZAN  89 

XIII.  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE  100 

XIV.  LIFE  IN  CAMP  no 
XV.    SOME  BRAVE  MEN  AND  THEIR  MEMORIAL  118 

XVI.   THE  BATTLE  OF  TAIPO-SHAN  126 

XVII.   THE  OCCUPATION  OF  TAIPO-SHAN  137 

v 


XVIII.    THE  FIELD  AFTER  THE  BATTLE  147 

XIX.   THE  FIRST  AID  STATION  158 

XX.    FOLLOWING  UP  THE  VICTORY  166 

XXI.    THE  STORMING  OF  TAKU-SHAN  174 

XXII.    SUN  FLAG  ON  TAKU-SHAN  184 

XXIII.  PROMOTION  AND  FAREWELLS  194 

XXIV.  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  GENERAL  ASSAULT      204 
XXV.    A  RAIN  OF  HUMAN  BULLEX.S  214 

XXVI.   THE  FORLORN  HOPE  227 

XXVII.   LIFE  our  OF  DEATH  239 

APPENDICES  257 


EDITOR'S   PREFACE 

MUCH  is  being  said  just  now  about  the  Japan- 
ese as  a  war-loving  nation,  likely  to  become 
aggressors  in  the  struggle  for  the  control  of  the 
Pacific.  This  little  book  of  Lieutenant  Sakurai's 
will,  perhaps,  help  to  set  us  right  in  regard  to  the 
spirit  in  which  the  Japanese  soldier  fights.  The 
story  was  told  originally,  not  for  a  foreign  audience, 
but  to  give  to  his  own  countrymen  a  true  picture  of 
the  lives  and  deaths,  the  joys  and  sorrows,  of  the 
men  who  took  Port  Arthur.  Its  enthusiastic  recep- 
tion in  Japan,  where  forty  thousand  copies  were 
sold  within  the  first  year,  is  the  justification  of 
translator  and  editor  in  offering  it  to  the  American 
public. 

The  tale,  so  simply  told,  so  vivid,  so  character- 
istically Japanese  in  spirit  and  in  execution,  is  the 
work  of  a  man  of  twenty-five  who  sees  the  world 
with  all  the  glow  and  courage  and  enthusiasm  of 
youth.  Its  honesty  speaks  in  every  line  and  word. 

If,  as  seems  now  possible,  the  great  new  lesson 
set  for  the  Twentieth  Century  is  to  be  the  meeting 
and  mutual  comprehension  of  Eastern  and  Western 

vii 


civilization  and  ideals,  there  can  be  no  better  text- 
book for  us  Americans  than  "  Human  Bullets,"  a 
revelation  of  the  inmost  feelings  of  a  Japanese 
soldier  of  remarkable  intelligence,  spirituality,  and 
power  of  expression.  No  better  opportunity  can  be 
found  for  the  study  of  Japanese  psychology  and  for 
the  gaining  of  a  sympathetic  insight  into  what  the 
loyal  sons  of  Japan  love  to  call "  Yamato-Damashii," 
the  Spirit  of  Old  Japan. 

A.  M.  B. 


INTRODUCTION 

RECENTLY  a  retired  officer  of  the  Russian 
army  and  a  correspondent  of  the  "Russ" 
came  to  call  upon  me.  When  war  broke  out  be- 
tween Russia  and  Japan  he  was  at  Harbin;  soon 
afterward  he  was  summoned  to  Port  Arthur  and 
set  out  thither.  But  by  that  time  communication 
had  been  cut  off  by  our  army,  and  in  consequence 
he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Vladivostock.  Accord- 
ing to  my  visitor's  story  the  railway  trains  from  the 
Russian  capital  were  loaded  with  decorations  and 
prize  money,  and  the  officers  and  men  traveling  in 
the  same  trains  were  in  the  highest  of  spirits,  as 
if  they  had  been  going  through  a  triumphal  arch 
after  a  victory  accomplished.  They  seemed  to  be- 
lieve that  the  civilized  Russian  army  was  to  crush 
into  pieces  the  half-civilized  forces  of  Japan  and 
that  the  glittering  decorations  and  jingling  gold 
were  soon  to  be  theirs.  They  did  not  entertain  in 
the  least  the  feeling  with  which  a  man  enters  a 
tiger's  den  or  knocks  at  death's  door.  The  Japan- 
ese fighters,  on  the  contrary,  marched  bravely  to 
the  front,  fully  prepared  to  suffer  agonies  and  sacri- 

ix     ' 


fice  their  lives  for  their  sire  and  their  country,  with 
the  determination  of  the  true  old  warrior  who  went 
to  war  ready  to  die,  and  never  expected  to  come 
back  alive.  The  Russian  army  lacked  harmony  and 
cooperation  between  superiors  and  inferiors.  Gen- 
erals were  haughty,  and  men  weary;  while  officers 
were  rich,  soldiers  were  left  hungry.  Such  rela- 
tions are  something  like  those  between  dogs  and 
monkeys.1  On  the  other  hand,  the  Japanese  army 
combined  the  strictest  of  discipline  with  the  close 
friendship  of  comrades,  as  if  they  were  all  parents 
and  sons,  or  brothers.  Viewed  from  this  stand- 
point, the  success  or  failure  of  both  armies  might 
have  been  clearly  foreseen  even  before  the  first 
battle.  My  Russian  guest  spoke  thus,  and  his 
observations  seem  to  the  point. 

The  army  of  our  country  is  strict  in  discipline 
and  yet  harmonious  through  its  higher  and  lower 
ranks.  The  soldiers  vie  with  each  other  in  offering 
themselves  on  the  altar  of  their  country,  the  spirit 
of  self-sacrifice  prevails  to  a  marked  degree.  This 
is  the  true  characteristic  of  the  race  of  Yamato. 
And  in  the  siege  of  Port  Arthur  this  sublime  na- 
tional spirit  showed  itself  especially  vigorous. 
Materially  calculated,  the  loss  and  damage  to  our 
besieging  army  was  enormous.  If,  however,  the 
spiritual  activity  this  great  struggle  entailed  is 

1  Dogs  and  monkeys  are  proverbially  unfriendly  in  Japan, 
as  dogs  and  cats  are  with  us. 
X 


taken  into  consideration,  our  gain  was  also  im- 
mense, —  it  has  added  one  great  glory  to  the  history 
of  our  race.  Even  the  lowest  of  soldiers  fought  in 
battle-fields  with  unflinching  courage,  and  faced 
death  as  if  it  were  going  home,1  and  yet  the  brav- 
est were  also  the  tenderest.  Many  a  time  they  must 
have  shed  secret  tears,  overwhelmed  with  emotion, 
while  standing  in  the  rainfall  of  bullets.  They  re- 
spected and  obeyed  the  dictates  at  once  of  honor 
and  duty  in  all  their  service,  and  shouted  Banzai 
to  His  Imperial  Majesty  at  the  moment  of  death. 
Their  display  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  Japanese 
Samurai  is  radically  different  from  the  behavior 
of  men  who  appear  on  the  fighting  line  with  only 
the  prospect  of  decorations  and  money  before  their 
eyes. 

Lieutenant  Sakurai  is  the  younger  brother  of 
my  friend  Mr.  Hikoichiro  Sakurai.  He  had  a  per- 
sonal share  in  the  tragedy  of  Port  Arthur  and  is  a 
brave  soldier  with  no  little  literary  talent.  I  had 
read  with  interest  the  lieutenant's  letters  written 
while  at  the  front,  giving  an  inside  view  as  well  as 
an  outside  one  of  the  war  and  describing  the  deli- 
cate workings  of  the  human  heart  at  such  a  time. 
Later  I  was  very  sorry  to  hear  that  he  had  been 
seriously  wounded  in  the  first  general  assault.  He 
has  written  out  the  facts  of  the  siege,  with  the  left 

1  "Death  is  returning  home."  Quotation  from  the  Chinese 
classics. 

xi 


hand  spared  him  by  the  enemy's  shot.  He  tells 
us  grand  stories  and  sad  stories,  portrays  the  pa- 
thetic human  nature  in  which  fortitude  and  tears 
are  woven  together,  and  depicts  to  us  the  great 
living  drama  of  Port  Arthur,  with  his  sympathetic 
pen.  I  must  congratulate  him  on  his  success. 
To  make  clear  the  true  cause  of  the  unbroken  series 
of  successes  vouchsafed  to  our  Imperial  Army,  to 
make  known  to  the  public  the  loyalty  and  bravery 
of  many  a  nameless  hero,  and  thus  to  comfort  the 
spirits  of  those  countless  patriots  whose  bones  lie 
bleaching  in  the  wilderness  of  Liaotung,  is  a  kind 
of  work  for  which  we  must  largely  depend  upon 
such  men  as  Lieutenant  Sakurai,  who  have  fought 
and  who  can  write.  He  has  blazed  the  way  with 
marked  success  in  this  most  interesting  field  of  war 
literature. 

SHIGENOBU  OKUMA. 

April,  1906. 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE 

THE  Russo-Japanese  War!  This  tremendous 
struggle  is  now  happily  at  an  end,  and  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  brave  and  loyal  officers 
and  men  have  come  back  from  the  fields  with 
laurels  on  their  heads,  and  welcomed  by  a  grateful 
nation.  What  a  triumphant  air !  How  happy  they 
look!  But  in  their  hearts  is  something  behind  the 
joy.  At  the  back  of  their  smiles  lie  hid  the  deep 
sorrow  and  the  often  forced-back  tears  for  the  mul- 
titudes of  their  comrades  who,  for  the  cause  of  their 
country  and  of  His  Majesty,  have  turned  their 
bodies  into  the  earth  of  lone  Manchuria  and  can- 
not share  in  the  delight  of  the  triumphal  return. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  Sinico-  Japanese  War,  a 
certain  detachment  was  ordered  home,  and  before 
sailing  paid  a  final  visit  to  the  graves  of  their  dead 
comrades.  One  private  stepped  out  of  the  ranks 
and  stroked  the  tombstone  of  his  special  chum, 
saying  with  falling  tears :  — 

"Dear  Kato!  I  am  going  back  to  Japan.  We 
have  faced  wind  and  rain  together  and  fought  in 
the  hail-storm  of  bullets  together,  and  you  died 

xiii 


instead  of  me,  and  I  am  going  home  in  safety.  I 
feel  as  if  I  were  not  doing  right.  I  am  very  sad  to 
leave  you  here  alone  —  but  be  happy,  dear  Kato, 
Liaotung  Peninsula  is  now  ours!  Your  bones  are 
buried  in  the  Japanese  soil.  Be  at  ease.  Under- 
stand, Kato?  —  I  have  to  go." 

He  talked  as  if  to  a  living  friend.  Every  word 
was  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  trying  to  com- 
fort the  departed  spirit  of  his  patriotic  comrade. 
His  loving  bosom  was  full  of  a  sense  of  the  eternal 
separation  of  the  living  from  the  dead.  He  was 
silent  and  in  tears  for  a  while,  then  wiped  his  eyes 
and  cheeks,  offered  water  to  the  grave  from  his 
water  bottle,  and  reluctantly  resumed  his  place  in 
the  ranks. 

That  detachment  who  sailed  home  from  Liao- 
tung Peninsula  a  decade  ago  learned  on  their  way 
that  the  peninsula  was  wrested  from  them.  Poor 
Kato,  who  died  with  a  smile  for  his  country,  did  he 
die  in  vain?  And  was  his  heroism  all  for  nothing? 
The  rage  and  disappointment  of  his  comforter  may 
well  be  imagined,  for  after  all  loyal  Kato's  ashes 
were  not  buried  in  the  Japanese  soil. 

For  ten  years  we  had  been  waiting  and  prepar- 
ing for  a  chance  of  chastising  the  unjust.  When 
the  invincible  Imperial  Army  first  landed  on  that 
battle-ground  of  ten  years  before,  how  eagerly  they 
must  have  been  welcomed  by  the  spirits  of  their 
dead  friends  who  could  not  find  a  permanent  rest 

xiv 


buried  in  a  place  which  was  once  theirs  and  then 
was  not.  When  I  landed  on  the  peninsula  and 
printed  my  footsteps  on  its  earth,  I  cried  out  with 
a  spontaneous  joy:  "This  is  also  Japanese  soil  I 
Bought  by  the  blood  of  our  brave  fellows  at  arms ! " 

I  paid  constant  attention  while  at  the  front  to 
find  traces  of  those  buried  there  during  the  pre- 
vious war,  but  could  not  find  even  a  rotten  piece  of 
wood  marking  such  a  spot.  But  I  felt  sure  that 
their  spirits  were  always  with  us  and  guiding  us  in 
the  battles,  stirring  us  up  to  do  our  very  best  for  the 
country  and  for  the  sire. 

"Beneath  this  your  elder  brothers'  ashes  are 
buried!  Above  here  your  comrades'  spirits  must 
be  soaring,  unable  to  find  an  eternal  place  of  rest! 
Men  die,  but  their  souls  do  not  perish.  Your  com- 
rades in  the  world  beyond  are  fighting  with  you  in 
this  great  struggle!"  were  the  words  with  which  I 
used  to  stimulate  men  under  my  command. 

Through  the  abundant  grace  of  Heaven  and  the 
illustrious  virtue  of  His  Majesty,  the  Imperial 
forces  defeated  the  great  enemy  both  on  land  and 
sea.  Our  arms  were  crowned  with  an  unparalleled 
success  and  our  country  with  awe-inspiring  dignity 
and  world-wide  glory.  And  the  peninsula  wrested 
from  us  is  once  more  under  our  care,  the  neglected 
graves  of  those  who  perished  in  the  unsuccessful 
struggle  ten  years  ago  are  once  more  being  properly 
attended  to.  The  story  of  how  over  one  million 

xv 


men  left  their  homes  and  country,  ready  and  will- 
ing to  die  for  the  great  cause,  and  of  how  they 
passed  eighteen  months  of  hardship  and  privation 
among  the  mountains  of  Liaotung,  on  the  plains 
of  Manchuria,  and  on  the  waters  of  the  Yellow 
Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Japan,  will  forever  be  told  to 
posterity  in  the  history  of  our  country. 

The  record  of  the  great  Russo-Japanese  War 
will  be  written  by  the  pens  of  able  historians  and 
writers.  I  simply  as  an  insignificant  fighter  who 
took  part  in  what  may  be  called  some  of  the  hard- 
est and  ugliest  battles  in  the  annals  of  warfare  and 
of  strategy,  of  all  times  and  of  all  nations,  propose 
herein  to  describe  with  a  hand  not  at  all  familiar 
with  the  holding  of  a  pen,  recollections  of  what  I 
personally  experienced  and  observed  in  the  siege 
of  Port  Arthur,  so  that  those  who  have  not  been  in 
a  similar  position  may  picture  to  themselves  the 
actual  scene  as  best  they  can. 

TADAYOSHI  SAKURAI. 


HUMAN   BULLETS 


MOBILIZATION 

IN  the  second  month  of  the  thirty-seventh  year  of 
Meiji,1  the  diplomatic  relations  between  Japan 
and  Russia  were  severed,  and  the  two  nations  began 
hostilities.  At  the  outset  our  navy  dealt  a  stunning 
blow  to  the  Russian  war  vessels  at  Chemulpo  and 
off  Port  Arthur.  His  August  Majesty  issued  a  pro- 
clamation of  war.  Mobilization  orders  were  issued 
to  different  divisions  of  the  army.  At  this  moment 
we,  the  soldiers  of  Japan,  all  felt  our  bones  crackle 
and  our  blood  boil  up,  ready  to  give  vent  to  a  long- 
stored  energy.  Mobilization !  How  sweetly  the  word 
gladdened  our  hearts,  how  impatiently  we  waited  to 
be  ordered  to  the  front !  What  division  was  mobilized 
to-day  ?  What  one  will  have  its  turn  to-morrow  ? 
How  long  shall  we  have  to  wait?  May  the  order 
come  at  once!  May  we  find  ourselves  in  the  field 
without  delay!  Not  that  we  wished  to  distin- 
guish ourselves  and  win  honors  in  the  early  battles, 
but  that  we  hated  the  idea  of  arriving  at  the  scene 
after  other  divisions  had  borne  all  the  burden  of  the 

1  Meiji  (Enlightenment).  The  era  beginning  with  the  reign  of 
the  present  emperor. 

3 


first  struggle.  But  what  could  we  do  without  Im- 
perial orders?  We  were  soldiers  always  ready  to 
"jump  into  water  and  fire  at  the  Great  Sire's  word 
of  command."1  We  had  to  wait  for  the  word  "Ad- 
vance!" How  eagerly  we  watched  for  that  single 
word,  for  that  order  of  mobilization,  as  drought- 
suffering  farmers  watch  for  a  rain-cloud  in  the  sky! 
We  offered  "mobilization  prayers"  as  they  offer 
"rain  prayers."  Wherever  we  went,  whomsoever 
we  met,  we  talked  of  nothing  but  mobilization.  At 
last  about  the  middle  of  April,  the  month  of  cherry- 
blossoms,2  emblematic  of  the  spirit  of  Japan's  war- 
riors, our  division  received  this  longed-for  order. 
Ordered  to  the  front !  Our  garrison  was  granted  the 
golden  opportunity  of  untrammeled  activity.  I  was 
at  that  time  the  standard-bearer  of  the  regiment. 
I  said  to  our  commander  on  hearing  this  glad  news : 
"Hearty  congratulations,  Colonel;  we  have  just 
received  the  order." 

Upon  which  Colonel  Aoki  smiled  a  smile  inde- 
scribably happy  as  if  he  welcomed  the  order  and 
exclaimed,  "It  has  come  at  last!" 

That  was  the  happiest  day  we  had  ever  experi- 
enced, and  I  could  not  help  going  around,  half  in 
frenzy,  to  the  officers  of  all  the  companies  to  carry 
the  news  to  them.  A  mysterious  kind  of  spiritual 

1  Quoted  from  a  war-song. 

2  The  cherry-blossom  is  the  flower  of  the  warrior,  because  of 
its  beauty,  its  short  life,  and  its  glorious  death. 

4 


electricity  seemed  to  permeate  the  whole  garrison, 
composed  of  the  flower  of  the  "Land  of  the  Gods." 
Every  one,  both  officers  and  privates,  seemed  ready 
to  fight  the  whole  of  Russia  single-handed.  Our 
souls  were  already  on  the  great  stage  of  Liaotung, 
while  our  bodies  still  remained  in  our  own  country. 

The  men  of  the  first  and  second  Reserve  were 
none  the  less  anxious  and  quick  to  gather  round  their 
standard.  Some  of  them  were  so  poor  that  their 
wives  and  children  seemed  likely  to  starve  without 
them,  others  came  from  the  sick  beds  of  old,  dying 
parents; —  all  must  have  had  cares  and  anxieties  to 
detain  them.  But  now  the  emergency  had  arisen, 
and  the  time  had  come  for  them  to  "  offer  them- 
selves courageously  for  the  State."  l  What  a  privi- 
lege, they  all  thought,  for  a  man  to  be  permitted  to 
give  his  life  for  the  nation's  cause !  When  we  saw 
them  swarm  together  day  after  day,  our  hearts 
bounded  with  redoubled  joy  and  strength. 

Here  is  a  sad  story  of  this  time.  Nakamura,  a 
private  of  the  first  Reserve,  had  an  invalid  wife  and 
a  baby  of  three.  They  were  extremely  poor,  and 
the  family  would  starve  without  the  husband.  Of 
course,  however,  the  family  trouble  had  no  place 
in  their  minds  before  a  national  crisis.  On  the  eve 

1  Quoted  from  the  Imperial  Rescript  on  Education.  This  may 
be  called  the  Japanese  Gospel  on  Education,  and  is  read  with  all 
possible  tokens  of  reverence  in  all  Japanese  schools  on  all  cere- 
monial occasions.  For  full  text,  see  Appendix  A. 

5 


of  her  husband's  departure,  the  poor  emaciated 
woman  gathered  all  her  scanty  strength,  went  to 
the  town  near  by  and  bought  two  go l  of  rice  and 
one  sen 2  worth  of  fuel.  This  handful  of  grain  and 
bundle  of  firewood,  are  they  really  as  insignificant 
as  they  seem  to  be?  Nay,  the  two  go  of  rice  and 
the  sen  worth  of  wood  were  for  the  loving  wife's 
farewell  banquet 3  in  honor  of  her  husband's  great 
opportunity.  And  yet  at  the  time  of  separation, 
the  wife  was  sick  and  the  child  starving,  and  the 
husband  going  to  give  his  life  to  his  country!  In 
the  morning,  before  daybreak,  Nakamura  bade 
good-by  to  wife  and  baby,  and  without  a  farewell 
from  his  neighbors  hastened  bravely  to  his  post. 
Such  was  only  one  out  of  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  similar  heartrending  instances.  The  kind  and 
sympathetic  people  left  at  home  at  once  began  to 
relieve  these  unfortunate  families,  so  that  the  men 
at  the  front  could  devote  their  whole  attention  and 
energy  to  their  duties  as  soldiers. 

When  the  men  of  the  first  and  second  Reserve 
arrived  in  their  garrison,  some  of  them  were  re- 
jected on  account  of  insufficient  health  or  physique. 
How  sad  and  crestfallen  they  looked  when  thus 
rejected!  "Please,  can't  you  take  me  in  some  way? 

1  Go,  a  measure  of  capacity  equal  to  a  little  more  than  a  gill. 

2  Sen,  equal  to  half  a  cent. 

3  Rice  is  a  banquet  to  people  so  poor  that  they  live  ordinarily 
on  millet. 

6 


They  gave  me  such  a  great  send-off  when  I  left  the 
village,  they  banzaied  1  me  over  and  over  again 
when  my  train  started.  I  came  here  determined 
not  to  go  home  again.  How  can  I  stand  the  dis- 
grace of  going  back  to  my  neighbors  as  a  useless 
failure  ?  Do  please  take  me  with  you,"  they  would 
entreat.  The  officers  in  charge  had  great  difficulty 
in  soothing  and  comforting  these  "failures"  and 
persuading  them  to  go  home. 

"Good  luck  to  you!  Your  family  will  be  well 
taken  care  of.  All  right,  eh?" 

"All  right,  all  right!  I  will  bring  you  a  dozen  or 
two  of  the  Russkies's  heads  when  I  come  back!" 

"My  dear  Saku,  don't  die  of  an  illness;  if  you 
die,  die  on  the  battle-field.  Don't  worry  about  your 
brother!" 

"I  am  ready  not  to  tread  on  the  soil  of  Japan 
again  with  this  pair  of  legs.2  Be  happy  with  me, 
when  you  hear  that  I  died  in  battle." 

"Thank  you  all  for  seeing  me  off  so  kindly.  I 
will  return  your  kindness  by  distinguishing  myself 
in  the  field." 

Words  like  these  sounded  at  the  doorways  of 
the  barracks  everywhere.  The  men  anxious  to 
serve;  the  nation  to  help  their  families;  was  this 
not  the  secret  of  our  splendid  victory? 

1  "Banzai!"  " Hurrah  1"  (Literally,  "Ten  thousand  years!") 

*  This  refers,  not  as  it  may  seem,  to  the  thought  of  coming  back 

disabled,  but  to  the  ideaof  returning  without  the  bodyafter  death. 

7 


We  were  busy  night  and  day  until  the  mobilizing 
was  completed.  Some  were  assigned  to  field  regi- 
ments, others  were  put  on  the  waiting-list,  and  soon 
we  were  ready  to  start  at  a  moment's  notice. 

Those  who  were  left  at  home  to  fill  up  vacancies 
later  on  were  sorely  disappointed,  and  entreated 
their  officers  to  allow  them  to  join  the  fighting  regi- 
ments at  once.  Their  comrades  had  to  comfort 
and  encourage,  cheer  and  praise  these  disappointed 
men,  explaining  to  them  that  the  war  with  Russia 
was  not  likely  to  come  to  an  end  in  six  months  or 
even  in  a  year;  that  their  turn  was  sure  to  come 
before  long;  that  it  was  not  at  all  a  disgrace  to  be 
on  the  waiting-list,  on  the  contrary  that  they  were 
to  have  the  honor  of  dealing  the  finishing  stroke  to 
the  enemy. 

After  our  regiment  was  ready  to  start,  one  sad 
affair  took  place.  Togo  Miyatake  was  one  of  those 
who  were  lodged  in  a  Buddhist  temple  called  Kwan- 
nonji  to  wait  for  a  later  summons.  He  was  in  good 
health  and  excellent  spirits.  When  leaving  home 
he  had  promised  his  parents,  brothers,  and  friends 
that  he  would  be  among  the  first  to  help  win  battles. 
Now,  instead  of  dying  in  the  field,  he  had  to  wait, 
doing  nothing.  He  did  not  know  when  he  would  be 
sent.  This  was  too  great  a  humiliation  for  him  to 
bear.  He  thought  it  better  to  kill  himself,  so  that 
his  spirit,  freed  from  the  shackles  of  the  body,  might 
be  at  the  front  to  work  with  his  living  comrades. 

8 


Left  in  such  a  situation  as  he  was,  poor  Togo's 
narrow  but  strong  sense  of  patriotism  made  him 
resolve  on  suicide  as  the  most  honorable  way  of 
escape.  Late  one  night  when  his  friends  were  fast 
asleep  he  scribbled  a  line  of  farewell  to  this  effect: 

"I  am  more  sorry  than  I  can  possibly  bear  not 
to  be  at  the  front  with  the  others.  No  one  would  take 
me  in  spite  of  my  entreaties.  I  will  prove  my  loyalty 
with  death." 

Thus  prepared,  he  drew  a  dagger  from  a  white- 
wood  sheath1  and  cut  across  the  abdomen,  whis- 
pering Banzai  to  the  Emperor  in  a  shower  of  tears. 
This  took  place  on  the  i2th  of  May  in  a  lonely 
corner  of  an  old  tottering  temple,  when  the  sound 
of  rain  dripping  from  the  eaves  made  the  sad  scene 
still  sadder.  But  good  Heaven  seemed  to  take  com- 
passion on  such  a  faithful  soldier.  His  friends 
awoke  and  came  to  the  rescue.  He  was  sent  to  a 
hospital.  His  wound  healed  in  due  time,  he  was 
discharged,  and  later  he  was  allowed  to  go  to  the 
front.  Cold  reason  may  call  this  man  a  fool,  or  a 
fanatic,  but  his  heart  was  pure  and  true.  This  inci- 
dent testifies  to  the  childlike  simplicity  of  devotion 
that  prevailed  throughout  the  whole  army. 

Russia  prided  herself  on  her  vast  territory  and 
immense  soldiery,  but  her  people  did  not  believe 
in  the  Czar's  virtue.  They  were  oppressed  and 

1  The  sheath  and  hilt  of  whitewood  indicates  the  ceremonial 
dagger  used  in  committing  hara-kiri. 

9 


trampled  upon  by  his  ministers  and  officials. 
They  were  therefore  not  at  all  anxious  to  support 
the  government  in  this  war.  Cossacks  had  to  drive 
the  unwilling  men  to  Manchuria  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet.  Yes,  Russian  fighters  were  brave  and 
strong,  but  lacking  in  morale,  the  first  requisite  of 
a  successful  war.  We,  on  the  contrary,  had  an  in- 
vincible spirit  called  Yamato-damashii, 1  disciplined 
under  the  strict  rules  of  military  training. 

All  the  manifold  details  of  business  connected 
with  mobilization  were  prosecuted  with  mechanical 
exactness  and  promptitude,  as  had  been  previously 
planned  out.  Everything  was  now  ready  and  we 
were  all  eagerly  waiting  for  the  day  of  departure. 

What  an  exciting  happy  time  we  had,  while  thus 
waiting  and  watching!  We  stroked  our  arms,  itch- 
ing for  action,  sharpened  our  swords,  pictured  to 
ourselves  what  we  would  do  on  the  actual  battle- 
field. Many  a  soldier  must  have  flourished  his 
glittering  sword,  as  I  did,  and  smiled  significantly 
in  the  midnight  moonlight  of  the  quiet  garrison 
ground. 

When  all  necessary  preparations  were  finished, 
our  colonel  put  us  through  an  armed  inspection. 
The  large  drill-ground  from  one  end  to  the  other 

1  Yamato-damashii,  the  spirit  of  Yamato,  an  expression  that 
contains  in  itself  the  idea  of  all  that  is  heroic  in  Japanese  his- 
tory and  character.  Yamato  was  the  province  first  conquered  by 
Jimmu  Tenno,  and  where  he  established  his  empire.  The  name 
is  still  used  for  that  province,  and  poetically,  to  mean  all  Japan. 
10 


was  filled  with  thousands  of  men  and  officers,  each 
provided  with  his  outfit,  —  arms,  food,  clothing 
and  so  on.  Soon  they  were  to  brave,  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  flying  shot  and  thundering  noise,  pesti- 
lential rain  and  poisonous  fog,  eating  together  and 
sleeping  together  as  comrades  and  brothers  in  dan- 
ger and  privation. 

To  the  stirring  sound  of  trumpets,  our  famous 
regimental  flag  was  brought  to  the  centre  and  an 
imposing  ceremony  of  welcome  to  the  flag  was  con- 
ducted by  Colonel  Aoki.  The  lives  of  the  brave 
three  thousand  gathered  round  him  were  all  in 
his  hands.  He  has  since  told  me  that  he  was  over- 
whelmed with  a  sense  of  great  responsibility  and 
with  a  feeling  of  proud  exhilaration  when  he  saw 
on  that  occasion  how  eager  and  ready  they  all 
were.  At  the  conclusion  of  this  ceremony  our  com- 
mander gave  us  a  speech  of  instruction,  in  such 
thrilling  words  as  made  us  bite  our  lips  and  tremble 
with  emotion. 

At  the  conclusion  of  such  an  armed  inspection 
a  few  days  later,  Brigadier- General  Yamanaka, 
then  in  command  of  our  brigade,  gave  us  a  written 
piece  of  advice,  in  which  the  following  words  were 
contained: — 

"The  flag  of  your  regiment  has  already  won  a 
glorious  name  in  the  Japan- China  War.  Its  fame 
is  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  all.  You  have  the 
responsibility  of  keeping  this  honor  unsullied.  You 

ii 


are  in  duty  bound  to  add  to  its  splendor.  And 
whether  you  will  do  so  or  not,  solely  depends  upon 
your  determination.  Remember,  that  if  you  once 
bring  a  spot  of  disgrace  upon  the  flag  an  opportu- 
nity of  washing  it  away  will  not  easily  come.  Do 
not  destroy  by  a  single  failure  the  honor  which  your 
flag  has  retained  since  its  first  battle.  I  deem  it  my 
highest  glory  to  share  in  ups  and  downs,  to  live 
and  die  with  you  officers  and  men  beneath  this 
historic  flag. 

"We  are  the  main  support1  of  His  Majesty, 
guardians  of  the  safety  of  our  country.  The  only 
way  we  can  fulfill  our  grave  responsibility  is  always 
to  remember  the  five  items  of  his  August  Rescript ; 2 
to  do  our  duty  with  sincere  devotion ;  and  to  put  into 
practice  the  sworn  resolutions  of  our  hearts.  Our 
Emperor  has  now  given  us  another  instruction, 
saying,3  'We  rely  upon  your  loyalty  and  bravery 
in  achieving  this  end  (victory)  and  keeping  un- 
sullied the  glory  of  our  Empire.'  How  shall  we 
respond  to  these  gracious  words  of  His  Majesty? 
I  with  you  shall  put  forth  every  energy  to  bring 

1  Koto,  the  Japanese  word  used  here,  means,  literally,  "  arms 
and  legs." 

2  Quoted  from  the  Imperial  Rescript  to  the  Army  and  Navy 
upon  which  the  moral  education  of  the  military  and  naval  men 
of  Japan  is  founded.   For  the  full  text,  and  the  five  articles,  see 
Appendix  B. 

*  Quoted  from   the   Imperial   Declaration  of  War  against 
Russia.    For  full  text  see  Appendix  C. 
12 


this  great  struggle  to  a  speedy  and  successful  ter- 
mination, so  that  we  may  make  good  the  nation's 
trust  in  us,  and  relieve  His  Gracious  Heart  of 
anxiety.  If  we  can  thus  secure  for  our  country  a 
permanent  peace,  our  humble  efforts  will  be  amply 
rewarded." 

Our  already  grave  position  was  made  tenfold 
graver  by  this  implicit  trust  put  on  us  by  His 
Majesty  and  the  nation.  How  did  we  bear  this 
tremendous  weight  of  duty  and  responsibility? 


OUR   DEPARTURE 

ABOUT  a  month  after  the  mobilization  was 
ordered,  another  happy  day  came  to  us;  the 
2ist  of  May,  a  day  we  shall  never  forget  to  the  end 
of  our  lives. 

While  we  had  been  waiting  for  this  day,  we  had 
heard  news  of  repeated  victories  of  our  forces  in  and 
around  Chiu-lien-cheng. 

We  were  frantically  joyous  over  the  news,  but  at 
the  same  time  could  not  help  feeling  a  foolish 
anxiety.  "If  they  were  making  such  steady  pro- 
gress out  there,  might  not  the  war  be  at  an  end  by 
the  time  we  were  starting  for  the  front  ?  A  certain 
division  was  to  go  in  a  few  days.  When  should  we 
have  our  turn  ?  While  we  were  kept  idle,  other  divi- 
sions might  monopolize  all  the  victories  there  could 
be.  No  room  would  be  left  for  us  unless  we  hurried 
up ! "  So,  therefore,  when  we  received  the  welcome 
order,  there  was  none  who  was  not  quite  ready  to 
start  at  once. 

On  that  long-looked-for  day,  we  were  ordered  to 
assemble  on  the  parade  ground  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

14 


Our  joy  was  boundless,  the  time  had  come  at 
last  for  the  greatest  action  of  our  lives.  "The  brave 
man  is  not  without  tears,  but  those  tears  are  not 
shed  in  the  moment  of  separation,"  so  the  expres- 
sion goes.  Of  course,  we  were  as  ready  and  will- 
ing to  welcome  the  worst  as  the  best,  but  because 
of  this  very  resolve  and  expectation  we  could  not 
help  thinking  of  eternal  separation,  —  parent  from 
child,  man  from  wife,  and  brother  from  sister. 
"Tears  even  in  the  eyes  of  an  oni"  l  How  could  we 
be  without  unseen  tears,  though  valiantly  forced 
back  under  a  cheerful  smile! 

On  the  night  previous  to  departure,  I  took  out 
my  old  friends'  photographs  to  look  at,  made  tidy 
the  drawers  of  my  desk,  and  so  arranged  everything 
that  my  affairs  would  be  quite  clear  to  my  surviv- 
ing friends.  And  then  I  went  to  sleep  my  last  sleep 
on  the  mats  peacefully  and  contentedly. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  cannon  roared 
three  times  from  the  tower  of  the  castle.  I  jumped 
out  of  bed,  cleansed  my  person  with  pure  water, 
donned  the  best  of  my  uniforms,  bowed  to  the 
east  where  the  great  Sire  resides,  solemnly  read  his 
Proclamation  of  War,  and  told  His  Majesty  that  his 
humble  subject  was  just  starting  to  the  front.  When 
I  offered  my  last  prayers — the  last,  I  then  believed 
they  were  —  before  the  family  shrine  of  my  ances- 
tors, I  felt  a  thrill  going  all  through  me,  as  if  they 

1  Oni,  a  goblin  or  devil. 

15 


were  giving  me  a  solemn  injunction,  saying,  "Thou 
art  not  thy  own.  For  His  Majesty's  sake,  thou  shalt 
go  to  save  the  nation  from  calamity,  ready  to  bear 
even  the  crushing  of  thy  bones,  and  the  tearing  of 
thy  flesh.  Disgrace  not  thy  ancestors  by  an  act  of 
cowardice."  My  family  and  relatives  gathered 
around  me  to  give  me  a  farewell  cup  of  sake,  and 
to  congratulate  me  on  my  joyous  start. 

"  Don't  worry  at  all  about  your  home  affairs  — 
put  into  practice  all  your  long-cherished  good  reso- 
lutions. For  your  death  your  father  is  quite  ready. 
Add  a  flower  of  honor  to  our  family  name  by  dis- 
tinguished service  to  the  country."  This  from  my 
father. 

"Please,  sir,  don't  be  anxious  about  me.  This 
is  the  greatest  opportunity  a  soldier  can  possibly 
have.  Only,  do  take  good  care  of  your  delicate 
self."  This  from  myself. 

Such  an  exchange  of  sentiments  between  father 
and  son  must  have  taken  place  almost  simulta- 
neously in  a  great  many  families. 

When  the  time  had  come  for  me  to  start,  I  took 
up  and  put  on  the  sword  that  had  been  placed  in 
the  family  shrine,  drank  the  farewell  cup  of  water  1 

1  The  farewell  cup  of  water  (mizu-sakazuki,  "  water-wine- 
cup"),  to  which  reference  is  made  frequently  in  Lieutenant 
Sakurai's  story,  is  a  religious  ceremony,  probably  of  Shinto  origin, 
of  the  nature  of  a  sacrament.  At  the  moment  of  death,  the  near- 
est relative  present  administers  water  to  the  dying  person,  an 
act  of  purification  for  the  next  life.  Hence,  on  the  departure  of 

16 


my  dear  mother  had  filled,  and  left  my  home  with 
light  heart  and  light  feet,  expecting  to  cross  its 
threshold  no  more. 

One  officer  was  just  going  to  the  front  in  high 
spirits  when,  on  the  night  previous  to  his  departure, 
his  beloved  wife  died,  leaving  a  little  baby  behind. 
He  had,  however,  no  time  to  see  her  laid  in  her  last 
place  of  rest.  Bravely,  though  with  tears  hardly 
suppressed,  he  started  early  in  the  morning.  Private 
sorrow  must  give  way  before  national  calamity, 
but  human  nature  remains  the  same  forever.  This 
unfortunate  officer's  sad  dreams  in  camp  must 
have  frequently  wandered  around  the  pole1  mark- 
ing her  burial-place,  and  about  the  pillow  of  the 
baby  crying  after  its  mother. 

any  member  of  the  family  on  an  errand  to  which  he  has  vowed 
his  life,  the  farewell  cup  that  is  given  him  is  not  the  sake,  typi- 
fying joy  and  good-fellowship,  but  water,  the  symbol  of  purifica- 
tion. In  one  of  the  Japanese  classical  dramas,  Taikoki,  the 
scenes  of  which  are  laid  in  the  time  of  Hideyoshi,  the  Taiko 
(1582-98  A.  D.),  a  young  man  is  about  to  depart  on  a  forlorn 
hope,  with  the  certainty  of  ending  his  life  in  battle.  He  is  be- 
trothed, and  before  he  leaves  his  home  the  wedding  is  cele- 
brated ;  but  the  marriage  cup  which  bride  and  bridegroom  share 
is  filled  with  water  instead  of  sake,  as  a  sign  that  the  union  is 
not  for  this  life  but  for  the  next.  The  bridegroom  leaves  immedi- 
ately after  the  ceremony  and  dies  fighting;  the  young  wife  at  once 
commits  suicide  and  rejoins  him  in  the  new  life  to  which  they 
pledged  themselves  in  the  "death-cup"  of  their  wedding-day. 
1  The  mark  over  a  grave,  for  a  year  after  burial,  is  a  wooden 
post,  cut  square,  and  bearing  the  name,  and  the  posthumous 
Buddhistic  name,  of  the  deceased.  At  the  end  of  the  year,  a 
stone  is  substituted  for  the  post. 


At  6  A.  M.  our  regiment  was  drawn  up  in  array, 
the  regimental  flag  was  welcomed  to  the  solemn 
and  majestic  tune  of  "  Ashibiki,"  and  we  all  looked 
expectantly  toward  our  colonel,  who  was  to  guide 
us  through  "savage  sands  and  barbarian  winds."  l 
The  brave  soldiers  felt  themselves  to  be  the  hands 
and  feet  of  the  commander.  We  had  all  said  good- 
by  to  parents  and  homes :  henceforward,  our  com- 
mander was  to  be  our  father,  the  boundless  plain 
of  Manchuria  our  home.  Words  utterly  fail  to 
describe  that  sense  of  mutual  dependence  which  we 
felt  at  this  moment  toward  each  other,  the  one  to 
command  and  the  other  to  obey. 

The  colonel  gazed  down  the  ranks  from  one 
end  to  the  other  and  read  aloud  his  last  instruc- 
tions before  leaving  the  home-land.  Then  at  his 
initiative  we  banzaied  His  Majesty  the  Highest 
Commander  three  times  over  at  the  tops  of  our 
voices. 

"Ah!  a  group  of  strong  warriors  has  arisen! 
they  rival  each  other  in  achievements  of  arms  at  the 
word  of  our  great  Sire.  Where  they  go,  the  heavens 
will  open  and  the  earth  crumble!"  2 

"First  battalion,  forward  march!" 

This  was  the  first  word  of  command  Colonel  Aoki 
gave  his  subordinates  at  their  departure  to  the  front. 
His  voice  confirmed  our  resolution  to  go  forward, 

1  A  classical  Chinese  expression  meaning  war. 
1  Quoted  from  a  war-song. 

18 


and  brave,  at  his  order,  the  strongest  parapet  or 
the  fiercest  fire  of  the  enemy. 

Our  long-drawn,  serpent-like  regiment,  sent  off 
with  the  hearty  and  sincere  Banzai  of  the  people, 
began  to  move  on  step  by  step.  The  noise  of  our 
marching  feet  becoming  fainter  and  fainter  in  the 
distance,  the  sound  of  our  rifles  and  swords  softly 
rubbing  against  our  clothes,  how  gallant  and  stir- 
ring these  must  have  sounded  to  the  enthusiastic 
ears  of  the  nation!  The  trumpet  that  resounded 
from  near  and  far  was  our  "good-by"  to  our  dear 
countrymen.  Old  and  young,  waving  the  national 
flag  and  shouting  Banzai  in  thunder-like  chorus, 
made  us  the  more  determined  to  deserve  their 
gratitude.  Whenever  in  the  field  we  made  a  furious 
assault,  we  felt  as  if  this  chorus  of  Banzai  were  surg- 
ing from  behind  to  stimulate  and  encourage  us. 
Our  own  war-cry  may  well  be  said  to  have  been  an 
echo  of  this  national  enthusiasm.  In  the  morning 
on  the  battle-field  amid  ear-rending  cannon  roar, 
in  the  chilly  evening  of  a  field  encampment,  this 
cry  of  Banzai  from  the  heart  of  the  whole  nation 
was  always  present  with  us. 

My  humble  self  was  honored  with  the  important 
duty  of  bearing  the  regimental  standard.  The  low 
bows  and  enthusiastic  cheers  at  the  sight  of  the 
flag,  from  crowds  of  people  standing  by  the  road- 
sides, stirred  my  spirits  more  and  more,  and  also 
made  me  fear  lest  I  might  fail  in  my  duty.  Dur- 

19 


ing  our  march,  Mr.  Kojima,  who  had  instructed 
me  for  five  years  in  the  high  school,  noticed  me, 
came  forward  two  or  three  steps,  from  among  the 
watching  crowd,  with  overwhelming  joy  in  his 
face,  and  whispered  in  my  ear:  "Strive  hard,  Sa- 
kurai." 

This  brief  but  forcible  exhortation  from  my  kind 
teacher  rang  in  my  ears  throughout  the  campaign 
and  urged  me  to  be  worthy  of  his  teaching. 

War-songs  sung  by  groups  of  innocent  kinder- 
garten-children —  how  they  shook  our  hearts  from 
the  foundation !  Old  women  bowed  with  age  would 
rub  rosaries  between  their  palms,  muttering  prayers, 
and  saying:  "Our  great  Buddha  will  take  care  of 
you!  Do  your  best  for  us,  Mr.  Soldiers."  How 
pathetically  their  zeal  impressed  us! 

Our  transports,  the  Kagoshima  Maru,  the  Ya- 
wata  Maru,  etc.,  were  seen  at  anchor  in  the  offing. 
The  men  began  to  go  on  board.  Sampans,  going 
and  coming,  covered  the  sea.  Along  the  shore,  the 
hills  were  black  with  men,  women,  and  children 
from  village  and  town,  waving  the  national  flag  and 
crying  Banzai  at  the  tops  of  their  voices.  The  fare- 
well hand-shake  of  our  colonel  and  the  Governor  of 
Ehime-Ken  added  to  the  impressive  scene. 

When  all  were  on  board  and  a  farewell  flag  had 
been  run  up,  our  transports  began  to  move  on  — 
whither  ?  To  the  west  —  to  the  west  —  leaving 
dark  volumes  of  smoke  behind!  Suddenly  clouds 

20 


gathered  in  the  sky  —  the  rain  began  to  fall,  first 
slowly  and  then  with  violence! 

Eager  brethren!  enthusiastic  countrymen!  Did 
you  expect  us  soon  to  return  in  triumphal  proces- 
sion, when  you  saw  us  off;  thousands  of  us  starting 
in  good  cheer  and  high  spirits? 


THE  VOYAGE 

WITH  the  nation's  Banzai  still  ringing  in 
our  ears,  our  imaginations  flying  to  stu- 
pendous fights  over  mountains  and  across  rivers, 
we  were  being  carried  far  toward  the  west.  Where 
were  we  going  ?  Where  to  land  ?  What  was  to  be 
the  scene  of  our  fighting?  All  this  nobody  knew 
except  the  colonel  as  commander  of  our  transpor- 
tation, and  the  captains  of  the  transports,  to  whom 
secret  orders  had  been  given.  Even  they  did  not 
know  much  at  the  time  of  our  starting  —  they 
were  to  receive  instructions  from  time  to  time. 
Were  we  going  to  Chennam-pu,  or  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Yalu,  or  toward  Haicheng,  or  to  the  siege  of 
Port  Arthur?  We  talked  only  of  our  guesses  and 
imaginings.  But  the  place  of  landing  or  of  fighting 
did  not  matter  much  to  us  —  we  were  happy  at  the 
thought  of  coming  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  time 
when  we  could  display  all  the  courage  we  had,  at 
the  word  of  command  from  His  Majesty  and  at  the 
beckoning  of  our  regimental  flag. 

Toward  the  dusk  of  the  evening  on  the  2ist, 
we  passed  through  the  Strait  of  Shimonoseki.   We 

22 


took  a  last  view  of  our  beloved  Nippon  and  felt 
the  pang  of  separation. 

"Fare  thee  well,  my  land  of  Yamato!  Farewell, 
my  sweet  home!" 

That  night  the  Sea  of  Japan  was  calm  and  the 
shower  of  the  day  had  dispersed  the  clouds.  All 
was  quiet;  the  thousands  of  soldiers  slept  soundly. 
Which  way  did  their  dreams  fly,  this  first  evening 
of  their  expedition  —  to  the  east  ?  or  to  the  west  ? 
The  gentle  waves,  the  smooth  motion  of  the  engines, 
an  occasional  long-drawn  breath  only  added  to  the 
calm  of  the  scene.  The  next  morning  we  found  the 
sky  well  wiped  without  leaving  half  a  cloud  —  it 
was  truly  Japan's  weather.  All  the  ships  at  this 
moment  were  hurrying  on  at  full  speed  off  the  Isle 
of  Mutsure,  sighting  the  hills  of  Tsushima  far  away 
in  the  distance,  when,  lo!  a  hawk1  descended  to  the 
deck  of  our  transport.  The  men  chased  him  hither 
and  thither  and  rejoiced  at  this  good  omen.  For 
some  time  the  bird  remained  with  us,  now  perching 
on  the  mast,  now  flying  about  over  the  ship.  After 
blessing  the  future  of  the  brave  officers  and  men  in 
this  way,  he  flew  to  the  next  transport  to  do  the  same 
errand  of  cheering  up  their  hearts. 

Very  soon  time  began  to  hang  heavy  on  our  hands. 
To  break  the  monotony  of  the  long  voyage,  an  ap- 

1  The  hawk  is  always  the  symbol  of  victory  and  is  associated 
in  the  early  legends  with  Jimmu  Tenno's  victorious  progress 
through  Yamato. 

23 


peal  to  our  "hidden  accomplishments"  was  the  last 
but  most  effective  resource.  Some  would  recount 
their  past  experiences,  others  tell  ghost  stories  or 
jokes,  still  others  recite  or  sing  popular  love-epi- 
sodes, each  joining  a  little  group  according  to  his 
taste  or  inclination.  Every  now  and  then  there  ap- 
peared one  bold  enough  to  try  the  rustic  dance  of 
wrestlers,  or  one  clever  enough  to  imitate  a  profes- 
sional story-teller,  using  his  knapsack  as  a  book- 
rest  and  playing  with  a  fan  in  his  hand,  just  as  a 
professional  reciter  would. 

Cheers  and  applause  resounded  through  the  small 
heaven  and  earth  of  the  steamer,  and  the  performers' 
faces  were  full  of  pride  and  elation.  Others  now 
began  to  emulate,  and  from  among  men  piled  up 
like  potatoes,  story-tellers,  conjurers,  and  perform- 
ers of  various  tricks  would  come  forward  to  amuse 
the  audience. 

Proceeding  to  the  front  to  fight,  and  to  fight 
never  to  return,  all  on  this  voyage,  both  men  and 
officers,  felt  and  behaved  like  one  large  family,  and 
vied  with  each  other  to  entertain  and  beguile  the 
tedious  moments,  squeezing  out  all  their  wit  in  their 
tricks  and  performances  and  bursting  the  air  and 
their  sides  with  merry  laughter. 

Tsushima  was  then  left  behind  us  in  mist  and 
haze,  and  we  steered  our  course  northward  across 
the  sea,  with  Korean  mountains  and  peaks  still  in 
sight.  Our  amusements  continued  day  after  day, 

24 


with  occasional  playing  of  the  piano  by  clumsy- 
handed  men  and  shouting  and  screaming  of  war- 
songs  on  deck.  When  tired  of  the  game  of  go l  or  of 
wrestling,  we  would  discuss  the  plan  of  campaign 
and  wish  that  the  curtain  might  be  raised  at  once,  so 
that  we  could  show  off  our  skill  on  the  real  stage  of 
the  battle-field,  not  only  to  astonish  the  enemy,  but 
to  elicit  the  applause  of  the  world-wide  audience. 

I  remember  very  well  that  it  was  on  the  23d  of 
May  that  our  captain  asked  for  our  autographs  as 
a  memento  and  family  heirloom.  I  took  out  a  sheet 
of  paper;  at  its  top  I  sketched  the  S.  S.  Kago- 
shima  Maru  steering  its  way,  and  underneath 
Colonel  Aoki  and  all  the  other  officers  wrote  their 
names.  Thirty-seven  names  this  piece  of  paper 
contained  —  only  a  few  of  men  now  surviving! 
What  a  valuable  and  sad  memorial  it  has  become! 
Crippled  and  useless,  I  live  now  as  a  part  and  par- 
cel of  that  memorial,  to  envy  those  on  the  list  whose 
bodies  were  left  in  Manchuria  and  whose  honored 
spirits  rest  in  the  Temple  of  Kudan.2 

1  The  game  of  go,  played  with  white  and  black  counters  on 
a  board  ruled  into  small  squares,  requires  an  immense  amount 
of  intellectual  effort.  In  this  respect  it  surpasses  all  games 
played  in  America,  even  chess.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  intel- 
lectual activity  of  the  Japanese  that  this  is  a  favorite  game  of 
all  classes  and  all  ages. 

1  Kudan,  the  name  of  a  hill  in  Tokyo  upon  which  stands  the 
Shokonsha,  or  "Spirit-Invoking-Temple,"  wherein  are  en- 
shrined the  spirits  of  all  those  who  have  died  for  their  country. 
It  is  one  of  the  religious  centres  of  the  New  Japan. 

25 


On  the  forenoon  of  the  24th  we  were  passing 
near  the  Elliot  Isles,  when  we  saw  many  lines  of 
smoke  floating  parallel  to  the  water  and  sky.  It  was 
our  combined  fleet  greeting  the  approach  of  our 
transports.  What  an  inspiring  sight,  to  see  our  fleet 
out  on  the  ocean!  Presently  a  cruiser  came  up  to 
us  and  continued  its  course  with  us.  It  must  have 
brought  some  orders  for  us. 

Our  landing  was  near  at  hand;  soon  we  were 
to  appear  on  the  real  stage.  And  yet  we  did  not 
know  where  we  were  to  land;  or  in  what  direction 
we  were  to  march. 

All  with  one  accord  hoped  —  Port  Arthur! 


A  DANGEROUS  LANDING 

WHERE  were  we  to  land?  This  was  the 
question  that  exercised  our  minds  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  our  voyage.  To  land  at 
Taku-shan  and  attack  Haicheng  and  Liao  Yang 
in  the  north,  was  one  of  the  suggestions  made.  To 
go  straight  to  the  Gulf  of  Pechili  and  land  at  lakao 
was  another.  A  third  suggestion  was  that  we  were 
to  land  at  a  certain  point  on  the  coast  of  Liaotung, 
and  then  go  south  to  attack  the  stronghold  of 
Port  Arthur.  Of  course,  all  the  views  and  opinions 
advanced  were  changed  according  to  the  direction 
in  which  our  bows  pointed.  But  at  last,  when  we 
saw  on  the  chart  that  we  were  sailing  south  of 
the  Elliot  Isles,  all  agreed  at  once  that  our  destina- 
tion was  some  spot  leading  to  Port  Arthur.  What 
excitement  and  joy  when  we  saw  the  transports 
and  the  guard-ships  proceeding  together  toward 
that  spot !  After  a  while  we  began  to  notice  a  dark 
gray,  long,  slender  piece  of  land  dimly  visible  through 
thick  mist.  That  was  indeed  the  Peninsula  of  Liao- 
tung! the  place  where,  ten  years  before,  so  many 
brave  and  loyal  sons  of  Yamato  had  laid  their  bones, 

27 


and  the  field  of  action  on  which  our  own  bodies 
were  to  be  left !  Since  the  previous  evening  the  sky 
had  been  dark,  the  gray  mist  and  clouds  opening 
and  shutting  from  time  to  time,  the  wind  howling 
at  our  mast-heads,  and  the  waves  beating  against 
our  bows  flying  like  snowflakes  and  scattering  them- 
selves like  fallen  flowers.  Behind  us  there  was  only 
boundless  cloud  and  water.  Beyond  those  clouds 
was  the  sky  of  Nippon!  The  enthusiastic  Banzais 
of  the  cheering  nation,  the  sound  of  rosaries  rubbed 
together  in  old  women's  hands,  the  war-songs  com- 
ing from  the  innocent  lips  of  children  —  all  these 
seemed  still  to  reach  our  ears,  conveyed  by  the  swift 
winds. 

We  were  to  land  at  a  gulf  called  Yenta-ao,  on 
the  eastern  coast  of  the  peninsula,  to  the  southwest 
of  Pitsu-wo.  This  was  only  a  small  inlet  on  the  sea 
of  China.  There  was  no  good  harbor  in  the  vicinity 
except  Talienwan,  on  the  east  side  of  Liaotung 
Peninsula;  but  that  good  harbor  was  then  in  pos- 
session of  the  enemy ;  so  we  had  to  risk  everything 
and  land  on  this  less  desirable  spot,  from  the  strate- 
gic necessity  of  the  case.  The  sea  and  the  currents 
of  that  neighborhood  are  both  very  treacherous ;  a 
storm  of  the  least  degree  would  make  it  extremely 
difficult,  not  only  to  land,  but  even  to  stay  there  at 
anchor.  Moreover,  the  water  is  very  shallow  and 
a  ship  of  any  size  must  anchor  one  ri  1  away  from 

1  Ri,  about  two  and  a  half  miles. 
28 


the  shore.  When  the  wind  is  strong,  a  ship  is  sure 
to  drift  several  miles  further  to  the  offing.  Such 
being  the  case,  we  can  well  imagine  the  difficulty 
and  anxiety  those  in  charge  of  our  debarkation  ex- 
perienced. Just  as  mother  birds  watch  over  their 
young,  our  convoys  were  watching  us  far  and  near, 
to  protect  our  landing  from  surprise  by  the  enemy. 
But  the  wind  that  had  begun  to  blow  in  the  morning 
became  fiercer  and  fiercer,  angry  seas  and  frantic 
waves  rose  in  mountains,  transports  and  sampans 
were  shaken  like  flying  leaves,  Chinese  junks  char- 
tered by  our  government,  raising  their  masts  like 
forest  trees,  were  being  tossed  and  teazed  by  the 
winds  as  in  the  time  of  the  great  Mongol  invasion 
in  the  Bay  of  Hakata. l 

Could  we  land  safely  in  such  a  storm  ?  Were  we 
to  face  the  enemy  at  once  on  going  ashore  ?  We  were 
like  horses  harnessed  to  a  carriage  —  we  did  not 
know  anything  about  our  surroundings.  All  was 
known  only  to  our  colonel,  in  whose  hands  lay  our 
lives.  We  did  know,  however,  that  two  things  were 
ahead  of  us,  and  they  were  —  landing  and  march- 
ing. After  a  short  wait,  our  landing  was  begun  in 
spite  of  the  risk;  evidently  the  condition  of  the 

1  The  Mongol  invasion  here  referred  to  is  the  one  of  1274  A.D., 
when  Kublai  Khan,  having  made  himself  master  of  China  and 
Korea,  undertook  the  invasion  of  Japan.  His  fleet  reached  the 
Bay  of  Hakata,  on  the  coast  of  Kyushu,  but  was  dispersed  by 
a  storm  after  the  first  battle  with  the  Japanese  had  driven  the 
invaders  back  to  their  ships. 

29 


campaign  did  not  admit  delay.  Hundreds  of  sam- 
pans, boats,  and  steam-launches — whence  they  had 
come,  we  did  not  know — surrounded  the  transports 
to  carry  men  and  officers  away.  Tremendous  waves, 
now  rising  like  high  mountains  and  now  sinking 
like  deep  valleys,  seemed  to  swallow  men  and  boats 
together.  Carrying  the  flag  with  due  solemnity,  I  got 
into  the  boat  with  the  colonel.  Innumerable  small 
boats  were  to  be  fastened  to  steam-launches  like 
beads  on  a  rosary.  Rolling  and  tumbling,  these 
rosaries  of  boats  would  whistle  their  way  to  the  shore. 
Our  regimental  flag  braved  the  wind  and  waves 
and  safely  reached  its  destination.  Ah,  the  first  step 
and  the  second  on  this  land  occupied  by  the  enemy! 
It  seemed  as  if  we  had  left  our  Fatherland  but  yes- 
terday, and  now,  not  in  a  dream,  but  in  reality,  we 
were  treading  on  the  soil  of  promise! 

What  an  exquisite  joy,  to  plant  once  more  the 
Imperial  Flag  of  His  Illustrious  Virtues  on  the 
Peninsula  of  Liaotung,  also  the  soil  of  Japan, 
consecrated  by  the  blood  of  our  brothers ! 

The  storm  went  from  bad  to  worse;  it  seemed 
impossible  to  complete  the  landing,  neither  could 
the  men  go  back  to  the  transports.  The  only  thing 
possible  was  to  trust  to  the  mercy  of  winds  and 
waves,  jump  into  the  water  and  struggle  for  the 
shore  as  soon  as  the  boats  came  near.  The  expe- 
rience of  my  friend  Captain  Tsukudo  is  an  illus- 
tration of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  landing. 

3° 


Captain  Tsukudo,  with  over  sixty  men  under  his 
care,  was  in  a  boat,  which  was  towed  away  from 
the  transport  by  a  small  launch.  His  boat  rolled  in 
the  waves  like  a  ball  and  was  in  constant  danger  of 
being  swallowed  in  the  vortex.  The  tug  cast  off  her 
tow  and  fled  for  safety.  The  gigantic  ho  1  which 
sweeps  through  ten  thousand  miles  without  rest, 
even  his  wings  are  said  to  be  broken  by  the  waves 
of  the  sea.  Much  less  could  a  small  boat  stand  the 
force  of  such  waves.  It  seemed  as  if  the  bravest  of 
men  had  no  other  choice  than  being  "buried  in  the 
stomachs  of  fishes."  Rescue  seemed  impossible. 
Heaven's  decree  they  must  obey.  Death  they  were 
ready  for,  but  to  die  and  become  refuse  of  the  sea, 
without  having  struck  one  blow  at  the  enemy  now 
close  at  hand,  was  something  too  hard  for  them  to 
bear.  With  bloodshot  eyes  and  hair  on  end,  the 
captain  tried  in  every  way  to  save  his  men,  but  alas ! 
they  were  like  a  man  that  falls  into  an  old  well  in 
the  midst  of  a  lonely  meadow,  not  sinking,  yet  not 
able  to  climb  up  —  the  root  of  the  vine  that  he  clings 
to  as  a  life  rope  being  gnawed  by  a  wild  rat! 

Captain  Tsukudo  jumped  into  the  sea  and  swam 
toward  the  shore  with  all  his  might ;  but  the  waves 
were  too  relentless  to  yield  to  his  impatient  and 
impetuous  desire  to  rescue  his  men.  They  swallowed 
him,  vomited  him,  tossed  and  hurled  him  without 

1  Ho,  a  fabulous  bird  of  gigantic  size,  like  the  roc  of  the 
Arabian  Nights. 

31 


mercy;  the  brave  captain  was  at  last  exhausted 
and  fainted  away  before  reaching  the  shore.  Hea- 
wa  yen,  however,  did  not  give  up  his  case ;  he  was  picked 
up  on  the  beach,  and  when  he  recovered  conscious- 
ness he  found  himself  perfectly  naked.  Without 
waiting  to  dress,  he  ran  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
landing  forces,  and  with  frantic  gestures  asked  for 
help  for  the  men  in  his  boat;  he  could  not  weep, 
for  tears  were  dried  up;  he  could  not  speak,  for 
his  mouth  was  parched,  but  he  succeeded  in  get- 
ting his  men  saved. 

Another  boat  loaded  with  baggage  and  horses 
capsized;  one  of  the  poor  animals  swam  away 
toward  the  offing.  The  soldier  in  charge  of  the 
horse  also  swam  to  catch  the  animal.  Before  he 
reached  it,  the  steed  went  down  and  soon  afterward 
the  faithful  man  also  disappeared  in  the  billows. 
Poor,  brave  soul!  his  love  of  his  four-legged  charge 
was  stronger  even  than  that  of  the  stork  who  cries 
after  its  young  in  the  lonesome  night.  Though  he 
did  not  face  the  enemy's  bullets,  he  died  a  pioneer's 
death  on  the  battle-field  of  duty. 

Was  the  Canaan  of  our  hopes  the  country  that 
we  had  pictured  to  ourselves?  Contrary  to  our 
expectations,  it  did  not  look  at  all  like  a  place  our 
brethren  had  bought  with  their  blood  ten  years  be- 
fore. It  was  simply  a  desolate  wilderness,  a  deserted 
sand-plain,  a  boundless  expanse  of  rolling  country, 
a  monotonous  insipid  canvas,  with  dark  red  and 

3* 


light  gray  all  over.  Compared  with  the  detailed, 
variegated  picture  of  Japan  that  we  had  been  ac- 
customed to,  what  a  sense  of  untouched  and  un- 
finished carelessness!  What  a  change  of  scene  to 
see  hundreds  of  natives  swarm  to  the  spot  of  our 
landing,  with  horses  and  wagons,  to  get  their  job! 
Were  they  men  or  animals  ?  With  ill-favored  faces, 
they  would  whisper  to  each  other  and  pass  on.  As 
knavish  fellows  they  deserve  anything  but  love,  but 
as  subjects  of  an  ill-governed  empire  they  certainly 
deserve  pity.  At  first  they  dreaded  the  Japanese; 
they  stared  at  us  from  a  distance,  but  did  not  come 
near  us ;  probably  because  they  had  been  robbed  of 
their  possessions  by  the  Russians,  and  their  wives 
and  daughters  had  been  insulted  by  them.  The 
Japanese  army,  from  the  very  first,  was  extremely 
careful  to  be  just  and  kind  to  the  natives  and  en- 
couraged them  to  pursue  their  daily  work  in  peace. 
Consequently  they  soon  began  to  be  friendly  with 
us  and  to  welcome  us  eagerly.  However,  they  are 
a  race  of  men  who  would  risk  even  their  lives  to 
make  money,  and  would  live  in  a  pig-pen  with  ten 
thousand  pieces  of  gold  in  their  pockets.  How  our 
army  suffered  from  the  treachery  of  these  money- 
grubbers  will  be  told  later  on. 

"Ata,  ata!  Wo,  wo!" 

This  strange  cry  we  constantly  heard  at  the  front 

—  it  is  the  natives'  way  of  driving  horses  and  cows. 

Their  skill  in  managing  cattle  and  horses  is  far 

33 


beyond  ours.  We  could  not  help  being  struck  with 
the  manner  in  which  the  animals  obeyed  their  or- 
ders; they  would  go  to  right  or  left  at  the  sound 
of  these  signals,  and  would  move  as  one's  own  limbs 
without  the  slightest  use  of  whips.  The  relation 
between  these  natives  and  their  cattle  and  horses 
is  like  that  between  well-disciplined  soldiers  and 
their  commanders ;  not  the  fear  of  whip  and  scold- 
ing, but  a  voluntary  respect  and  submission,  is  the 
secret  of  military  discipline  and  success.  The  fact 
that  the  Russian  soldiers  were  lacking  in  this  im- 
portant factor  became  clear  later  by  the  testimony 
of  the  captives. 

After  some  companies  of  our  division  had  landed 
with  much  ado,  the  storm  grew  worse  and  the  land- 
ing was  suspended.  The  colonel,  an  aide-de-camp, 
the  interpreter,  the  chaplain,  and  myself,  accom- 
panied by  a  handful  of  guards,  crossed  the  wilder- 
ness and  wended  our  way  toward  Wangchia-tun, 
fixed  as  our  stopping- place  for  that  night.  We  busied 
ourselves  with  the  map  and  the  compass,  while  the 
interpreter  asked  question  after  question  of  the 
natives.  I  consulted  a  Chinese- Japanese  conver- 
sation book,  and  asked  them  in  broken  words, 
"Russian  soldiers,  have  they  come?"  to  which  they 
replied,  "To  Port  Arthur  they  have  fled."  We  were 
of  course  disappointed  not  to  encounter  the  long- 
looked-for  antagonists  at  once! 

Seven  ri's  journey  through  a  sand  plain  brought 

34 


us  to  the  willow-covered  village  Wangchia-tun  in 
the  rainy  and  windy  evening,  when  strange  birds 
were  hastening  to  their  roosts. 

Stupid-looking  old  men  and  dirty-faced  boys 
gathered  round  us  like  ants  and  looked  at  us  with 
curiosity.  Long  pipes  were  sticking  out  from  the 
mouths  of  the  older  men ;  they  seemed  utterly  un- 
concerned or  ignorant  of  the  great  trouble  in  their 
own  country.  The  filth  and  dirt  of  the  houses  and 
their  occupants  were  beyond  description ;  we  new- 
comers to  the  place  had  to  hold  our  noses  against 
the  fearful  smells.  Military  camp  though  it  was 
in  name,  we  only  found  shelter  under  the  eaves  of 
the  houses,  with  penetrating  smells  attacking  us 
from  below,  and  surrounded  by  large  and  small 
Chinese  highly  scented  with  garlic!  Before  our 
hungry  stomachs  could  welcome  the  toasted  rice- 
balls,  our  olfactory  nerves  would  rebel  against  the 
feast. 

We  who  had  succeeded  in  landing  spent  our  first 
night  in  Liaotung  in  this  condition.  The  spirits 
of  the  deceased  comrades  of  ten  years  before  must 
have  welcomed  us  with  outstretched  arms  and  told 
us  what  they  expected  of  us.  Under  tents,  half  ex- 
posed to  the  cold  and  wet,  the  men  slept  the  good 
sleep  of  the  innocent  on  millet  straw,  and  an  occa- 
sional smile  came  to  their  unconscious  lips.  What 
were  they  dreaming  of?  Some  there  were  who 
sat  by  the  smoky  fire  of  millet  straw  all  the  night 

35 


through,  buried  in  deep  thought  and  munching  the 
remnant  of  their  parting  gifts  with  their  lunch  boxes 
hanging  from  the  stone  wall. 

The  day  was  about  to  dawn,  when  suddenly  thun- 
der and  lightning  arose  in  the  western  sky.  Not 
lightning,  but  flames  of  fire;  not  thunder,  but  roar 
of  cannon!  Furious  winds  added  to  the  dreariness 
of  the  scene;  the  sky  was  the  color  of  blood. 

The  great  battle  of  Nanshan !  We  could  not  keep 
still  from  fullness  of  joy  and  excitement. 


THE  VALUE  OF   PORT   ARTHUR 

THAT  glorious  January  2,  of  the  thirty-eighth 
year  of  Meiji,  will  never  be  forgotten  to  the 
end  of  time.  That  happy  day  of  the  victorious  New 
Year  was  doubly  crowned  by  the  birth  of  an  Im- 
perial grandson  and  by  the  capitulation  of  Port 
Arthur!  There  has  never  been  a  New  Year  in  all 
our  history  so  auspicious  and  so  memorable! 

The  fall  of  Port  Arthur  was  an  event  that  marked 
an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  world!  Do  not  for- 
get, however,  that  this  result  was  achieved  only 
through  the  shedding  of  rivers  of  blood.  General 
Kuropatkin  had  boasted  of  the  invincible  strength 
of  the  fortress  and  had  said  that  it  could  live  out 
over  a  year  against  the  fiercest  attacks  imaginable. 
But  the  incessant,  indefatigable  rain  of  bullets 
and  shells  upon  the  place  by  the  invading  army 
obliged  the  Russians  to  surrender  in  less  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  days.  Between  the  first  battle 
at  Nanshan  and  the  final  capitulation  of  Stoessel, 
the  bodies  of  our  soldiers  became  hills  and  their 
blood  rivulets.  Spectators  often  doubted  our  suc- 
cess. But  the  spirit  of  Yamato,  as  firm  as  the  iron 

37 


of  a  hundred  times  beating  and  as  beautiful  as  the 
cherries  blooming  on  ten  thousand  boughs  —  that 
tamashii1  proved  too  powerful  for  the  completest 
of  mechanical  defense.  At  the  same  time,  we  can- 
not but  admire  the  stubborn  courage  with  which 
the  Russian  generals  and  soldiers  defended  their 
posts  under  circumstances  of  extreme  difficulty 
and  suffering.  We  fully  endorse  the  remark  of  a 
foreign  critic:  "Well  attacked  and  well  defended!" 
Port  Arthur  had  been  attracting  the  keen  atten- 
tion of  the  whole  world  ever  since  the  Japan-China 
war.  Russia  had  spent  nearly  ten  years  and  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  yen  2  in  fortifying  the  place. 
It  had  been  considered  of  such  strategic  import- 
ance that  its  fall  would  mark  the  practical  ter- 
mination of  the  Russo-Japanese  struggle,  just  as 
the  fall  of  Plevna  decided  the  fate  of  the  Russo- 
Turkish  war.  The  fortress  of  Port  Arthur  embraces 
within  its  arms  its  town  and  harbor  —  innumerable 
hills  of  from  two  to  five  hundred  metres  in  height 
form  a  natural  protection  to  the  place.  To  these 
natural  advantages  was  added  the  world-famous 
skill  of  the  Russians  in  fortification.  Every  hill, 
every  eminence  had  every  variety  of  fortification, 
with  countless  cannon,  machine-guns,  and  rifles, 

1  Tamashii,  spirit,  the  same  word  that  in  composition  with 
Yamato  becomes  damashii. 

1  Yen,  the  monetary  unit,  equal  to  one  hundred  sen,  or  fifty 
cents. 

38 


so  that  an  attack  either  from  the  front  or  from  the 
side  could  easily  be  met.  Each  spot  was  made  still 
more  unapproachable  by  ground-mines,  pitfalls, 
wire-entanglements,  etc.  There  was  hardly  any 
space  where  even  an  ant  could  get  in  unmolested. 
It  was  surely  impregnable.  On  the  other  hand,  our 
position  was  extremely  disadvantageous.  We  had 
to  climb  a  steep  hill,  or  go  down  into  a  deep  valley, 
or  up  an  exposed  slope  to  attack  any  Russian  fort. 
The  position  of  the  whole  place  was  such  that  it 
was  as  easy  to  defend  as  it  was  difficult  to  attack. 
Moreover,  the  Russians  had  on  the  spot  enough 
provisions  and  ammunition  to  withstand  a  longer 
siege,  without  relying  upon  supplies  from  outside. 
But  there  is  no  single  instance  in  history  of  any 
fort  that  has  withstood  siege  permanently;  sooner 
or  later  it  must  either  capitulate  or  else  lose  all  its 
men  and  fall.  The  same  will  also  be  the  case  in  the 
future.  The  only  question  is  whether  a  fort  will 
fall  as  easily  as  a  castle  of  ante.1  Sebastopol  with- 
stood the  allied  armies  of  England  and  France  for 
more  than  three  hundred  and  twenty  days,  but 
eventually  fell  after  the  docks  had  been  destroyed, 
the  forts  blown  up,  and  the  town  utterly  demolished. 
At  Kars  the  gallant  General  Williams,  with  only 
three  months'  provision  and  three  days'  ammuni- 
tion, supported  by  the  Turkish  soldiers,  withstood 
for  seven  months  the  Russian  army  of  fifty  thou- 
1  Am6,  candy  made  from  wheat  gluten. 

39 


sand  men;  but  it  fell  at  last.  The  Russian  Gen- 
eral Muravieff  admired  the  hero  of  Kars  and  sent 
him  this  message: — 

"All  the  world  and  future  generations  will  marvel 
at  your  valor  and  discipline.  Let  us  have  the  glory 
of  consulting  together  about  the  way  of  satisfying 
the  requirements  of  war,  without  doing  harm  to 
the  cause  of  humanity." 

Paris  resisted  the  Prussian  siege  for  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two  days  before  surrendering.  These 
are  only  a  few  remarkable  examples  in  history ;  but 
all  besieged  places  have  fallen  sooner  or  later.  The 
only  purpose  a  fort  can  serve  is  to  resist  the  be- 
siegers as  long  as  possible,  so  as  to  hinder  the  gen- 
eral plan  of  the  enemy.  This  principle  applied  to 
Port  Arthur;  it  had  to  detain  as  many  as  possible 
of  the  Japanese  in  the  south,  for  as  many  days 
as  possible,  in  order  to  let  Kuropatkin  develop 
his  plan  in  North  Manchuria  without  hindrance. 
For  this  great  object,  General  Stoessel  held  fast  to 
the  marvelously  fortified  place  and  tried  his  best 
to  keep  off  the  besieging  army.  Supposing  that  Port 
Arthur  had  not  fallen  before  the  great  battle  of 
Moukden,  what  would  it  have  meant  to  our  gen- 
eral plan  of  campaign  ?  This  supposition  will  make 
the  true  value  of  Port  Arthur  clear  to  every  mind. 
Therefore  they  tried  to  hold  it,  and  we  endeavored 
to  take  it;  a  desperate  defense  on  one  side  and 
a  desperate  attack  on  the  other.  General  Nogi 

40 


bought  the  fortress  at  a  tremendous  price  —  the 
sacrifice  of  tens  of  thousands  of  lives;  but  once 
in  our  possession,  its  value  became  greater  than 
ever. 

That  such  an  invincible  and  unapproachable 
place  was  taken  in  eight  months  tells  how  fierce 
was  the  struggle.  The  siege  of  Port  Arthur  was 
one  of  the  bloodiest  contests  that  the  world  has 
known.  In  modern  history,  the  siege  of  Plevna 
had  until  then  been  considered  the  most  sanguinary. 
The  great  but  unfortunate  artist,  Vereshtchagin, 
who  went  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  outside  Port 
Arthur  with  Admiral  Makaroff,  painted  for  pos- 
terity the  scenes  of  Plevna.  If  he  had  survived  to 
see  the  last  of  Port  Arthur,  he  must  have  portrayed 
a  scene  even  more  bloody.  Mr.  George  Kennan, 
the  war-correspondent  of  the  "Outlook,"  described 
this  siege  as  representing  the  shriek  of  the  lowest 
hell  on  this  earthly  abode  of  ours.  And  these  hor- 
rible scenes  were  necessitated  by  the  strategic  value 
of  Port  Arthur  itself. 

How  was  Port  Arthur  besieged  and  attacked? 
The  answer  to  this  question  is  the  centre  and  object 
of  my  little  sketch;  hence  this  brief  explanation 
of  its  value. 

The  night  of  our  landing  at  Liaotung,  we  heard 
the  din  of  battle  arising  from  Nanshan,  the  only 
entrance  to  Port  Arthur.  Let  us  now  return  to  that 
battle. 


Jfc 


/\ 

THE  BATTLE  OF  NANSHAN 

THE  thunder  and  lightning  in  the  direction  of 
Nanshan  became  fiercer  and  fiercer  as  time 
went  on.  How  was  it  being  fought?  With  what 
courage  and  perseverance  were  our  comrades  ac- 
quitting themselves?  Was  the  place  already  occu- 
pied, or  were  they  still  struggling  on?  We  must 
hurry  forward  to  take  part  in  this  our  first  battle; 
it  was  an  opportunity  too  great  for  us  to  miss.  How 
soon  should  we  be  ordered  to  march  ?  We  were  thus 
impatient  and  fidgeting,  our  minds  racing  toward 
Nanshan.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  did  not  know 
whether  the  battalions  to  follow  us  had  accom- 
plished their  landing  in  safety  or  not.  The  messen- 
ger sent  for  news  had  not  come  back  after  a  day 
and  night.  The  colonel  had  only  five  hundred  men 
in  hand.  What  a  slender  force !  Would  our  com- 
mander venture  out  with  this  handful  of  men? 
His  anxious  face  told  us  that  he  could  not  lead  us 
at  once  into  the  fight.  Were  we  merely  to  watch  it 
from  a  distance,  as  if  it  were  a  fire  on  the  other  side 
of  a  river,  without  offering  to  help?  We  began  to 
be  disappointed.  Of  course  the  prospect  of  the  war 
42 


was  long — the  curtain  had  just  risen;  this  Nanshan 
could  not  be  the  last  act.  But  it  was  tantalizing  to 
be  on  the  spot  and  yet  not  to  encounter  the  enemy, 
to  hear  the  din  of  battle  and  yet  not  be  able  to  join! 

All  things  come  to  him  who  waits.  We  received 
the  following  orders :  — 

"  Proceed  without  delay  to  join  the  Second  Army 
under  General  Oku  at  Nanshan." 

This  was  proclaimed  by  our  colonel,  who  was  full 
of  joy  and  eagerness  —  his  voice  rang  with  energy 
and  enthusiasm.  Both  men  and  officers  welcomed 
the  news  as  they  would  glad  tidings  from  heaven. 
They  were  more  than  ready  to  start.  March!  tear 
on!  We  spread  our  legs  as  wide  as  possible.  We 
kicked  and  spurned  village  after  village,  field  after 
field.  We  did  not  think  of  how  many  miles  we  ran. 
With  the  enemy's  visage  lurking  before  our  eyes, 
we  did  not  feel  any  pain  or  fatigue;  the  drops  of 
perspiration  mixed  with  dust  formed  a  mask  over 
our  faces  —  but  what  did  it  matter  ?  Our  water 
bottles  were  emptied  ere  long,  our  throats  were 
dry  and  parched,  we  were  almost  suffocating,  but 
not  a  single  man  was  out  of  rank.  We  all  looked 
toward  the  supposed  post  of  the  enemy,  and  ran 
forward.  The  sound  of  roaring  cannon  made  us 
forget  fatigue,  difficulty,  and  pain. 

"Is  Nanshan  still  holding  out?" 

"They're  just  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  —  hurry 
on,  men!" 

43 


Such  conversations  were  frequently  heard  be- 
tween the  coolies  coming  back  from  Nanshan  and 
the  men  now  marching  to  it.  It  sounds  foolish, 
but  we  all  wished  that  Nanshan  would  not  yield 
before  our  arrival.  Perhaps  we  were  conceited 
enough  to  think  that,  without  the  help  of  us  fresh 
men,  our  comrades  would  be  too  exhausted  to  oc- 
cupy the  place.  When  we  saw  on  our  way  two  or 
three  captured  officers  being  escorted  to  our  head- 
quarters, we  were  half  happy  to  have  a  first  sight 
of  the  defeated  enemy  and  half  afraid  lest  Nan- 
shan had  already  been  taken! 

I  wish  to  say  in  passing  that  in  the  army  a  sharp 
line  is  drawn  between  the  things  that  may  be  granted 
to  the  soldiers  when  possible  and  those  that  must  not 
be  allowed  under  any  circumstances.  This  is  par- 
ticularly the  case  in  time  of  a  march.  In  a  march 
for  practice,  or  in  a  march  in  time  of  war,  but  not 
for  an  actual  engagement,  as  much  rest  and  as  ample 
a  supply  of  provisions  are  allowed  as  possible.  But 
when  we  march  to  a  fight,  we  go  on  even  without 
food  or  water,  or  in  spite  of  a  heavy  storm.  Each 
soldier  carries  a  knapsack  about  ten  kwan  1  in 
weight,  and  has  only  one  bottleful  of  water  to  drink. 
When  he  has  emptied  it,  he  cannot  get  one  drop 
more.  Day  after  day,  he  rests  and  sleeps  in  a  field- 
encampment;  in  pouring  rain  or  howling  storm, 
he  is  not  allowed  to  take  shelter  even  under  the 

1  Kwan,  a  little  over  eight  and  a  quarter  pounds. 
44 


eaves  of  a  house.  Exhaustion  or  pain  is  no  reason 
for  an  exception.  He  has  no  time  to  wipe  the  per- 
spiration from  his  face,  which  soon  becomes  white  T£ 
with  dried-up  salt.  Panting  and  suffocating,  he 
struggles  on.  It  seems  cruelty  to  subject  men  to  this 
ordeal,  but  they  must  sacrifice  everything  to  duty. 
Even  one  single  soldier  must  not  be  missing,  even 
one  single  rifle  must  not  be  lacking  from  the  skir- 
mish line.  And  after  such  a  hard  march,  they  en- 
gage in  a  severe  fight  at  once;  so,  therefore,  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  battle  is  practically  settled 
during  the  march.  Hence  the  great  importance  of 
training  men  in  time  of  peace  in  waterless  marches, 
night  marches,  and  quick  marches.  This  practice 
may  seem  needlessly  inflicted  hardship,  but  its  true 
value  is  made  clear  when  it  comes  to  a  real  fight. 

To  return  to  our  story,  we  pressed  on  in  great 
enthusiasm  or  rather  in  a  state  of  frenzy,  thinking 
all  the  while  of  the  first  battle  at  Nanshan.  When 
we  came  near  our  destination,  we  saw  cone-shaped 
tents  nestling  under  the  trees  or  on  the  sides  of  the 
hills.  They  were  our  field-hospitals.  The  large 
number  of  these  tents  made  us  very  anxious  about 
the  issue  of  the  struggle.  Stretcher  after  stretcher 
would  bring  fresh  patients  and  hurry  back  to  the 
line  of  battle  to  fetch  more.  The  wounded  who 
could  walk  accompanied  the  stretchers  on  foot  in 
large  numbers  and  panting  all  the  way.  Both  those 
on  foot  and  those  on  stretchers  were  covered  with 

45 


blood  and  mud,  which  told  more  eloquently  than 
words  the  story  of  their  valiant  fight  and  hard 
struggle.  Their  white  bandages,  stained  with  red, 
covered  wounds  of  honor;  the  drops  of  blood  falling 
through  the  stretchers  seemed  to  hallow  the  ground. 
They  impressed  us  with  an  inexpressible  dignity  — 
we  could  not  help  sighing  with  reverence  and  grati- 
tude. 

Just  at  this  moment,  the  aide-de-camp  who  had 
gone  forward  to  receive  instructions  came  back 
and  reported  that  Nanshan  had  fallen,  and  that  all 
the  reserves  were  to  lodge  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Chungchia-tun  to  await  further  orders.  What  a 
disappointment!  From  the  commander  down  to 
the  grooms  all  felt  dispirited  and  disheartened  — 
stroked  their  hard-strained  arms  and  stamped  on 
the  ground  with  regret.  It  is  true,  this  early  fall  of 
Nanshan,  which  the  enemy  had  considered  the  key 
to  Port  Arthur,  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  our 
future  plan  of  campaign.  We  ought  to  have  re- 
joiced over  the  news,  and  we  did  of  course  rejoice; 
but  at  the  same  time  you  cannot  blame  us  for  being 
thus  disappointed  when  you  think  how  we  had 
hurried  and  pressed  on  from  the  point  of  our  land- 
ing, without  stopping  to  recover  our  breath,  only 
to  learn  at  our  destination  that  the  object  of  our 
efforts  had  been  attained  by  other  people. 

Only  one  more  hill  in  front  of  us !  Beyond  it  were 
blood-streams  and  corpse-hills.  When  we  reached 

46 


this  spot  the  deafening  cannon  roar  suddenly  ceased, 
the  mountains  and  valleys  recovered  their  ancient 
silence.  The  only  thing  we  saw  was  the  continuous 
sending  back  of  the  wounded.  Whenever  we  met 
them,  we  comforted  them  and  thanked  them  for 
their  work.  We  had  a  rest  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill, 
where  a  groom,  who  had  been  in  the  battle,  re- 
counted to  us  the  story  with  great  pride.  Shaking 
his  head  and  flourishing  his  arms,  he  talked  like 
a  professional  story-teller  —  his  story  was  a  great 
excitement  for  us  then.  He  showed  us  a  water 
bottle  that  had  belonged  to  a  Russian  soldier.  Alto- 
gether he  talked  as  if  he  had  vanquished  the  enemy 
all  by  himself.  We  who  had  not  yet  loaded  our 
guns,  we  who  had  not  yet  unsheathed  our  swords, 
felt  shamefaced  and  crestfallen;  even  this  non- 
combatant  groom  seemed  like  a  hero  to  us.  We 
praised  him,  and  piled  question  after  question  on 
him,  and  eagerly  devoured  his  triumphant  ac- 
counts. 

We,  all  the  reserves  under  the  direct  command 
of  General  Oku,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Second 
Army,  were  ordered  to  spend  the  night  at  Chung- 
chia-tun.  We  had  to  go  back  a  ri  and  a  half  over  the 
same  road  to  that  place.  How  lacking  in  spirit  was 
that  backward  march!  Both  men  and  horses  hung 
their  heads  and  walked  on  dejectedly.  The  yellow 
dust  rising  from  the  ground  made  us  look  like 
dumplings  covered  with  yellow  bean-flour.  In  our 

47 


forced  march  by  day  and  night,  we  had  thought  only 
of  Nanshan  and  had  not  felt  any  pain  in  our  legs. 
Everything  was  reversed  on  our  return!  Even  in 
a  manoeuvre  in  time  of  peace,  the  sound  of  can- 
non and  rifles  makes  us  forget  the  pain  in  our  feet 
and  the  exhaustion  of  our  bodies,  changes  our  walk- 
ing into  running,  and  incites  us  to  assault  the  enemy 
with  a  frantic  zeal;  but  once  we  begin  to  retrace 
our  steps,  our  feet  grow  heavy  at  once,  every  rut  and 
every  pebble  tries  our  temper,  and  we  are  entirely 
without  energy  or  spirit.  This  may  come  from  the 
Japanese  characteristic  that  thinks  only  of  going 
forward  and  not  at  all  of  retreating.  The  Russian 
soldiers  are  masterly  in  retreat,  whilst  the  Japanese 
are  very  unskilled  in  it.  But  once  they  begin  to 
advance,  the  Japanese  are  never  defeated  by  the 
Russians.  We  have  inherited  a  temperament  which 
knows  no  retreating  even  before  sure  death,  and 
that  inheritance  has  been  made  stronger  by  dis- 
cipline. Our  constant  victory  over  the  fierce  enemy 
must  largely  be  due  to  this  characteristic  of  ours. 

At  last  we  reached  Chungchia-tun.  It  was  a  deso- 
late village  with  a  small  stream  running  through  it. 
The  moon  looked  dismal  that  night  and  the  stars 
were  few.  Nature  seemed  to  sympathize  with  the 
disappointed,  worn-out  men  and  officers,  sleeping 
on  millet  straw  and  mourning  over  those  who  had 
died  in  the  battle  of  that  day.  Here  and  there  we 
saw  men  unable  to  go  to  sleep  till  late  at  night  — 

48 


their  hearts  must  have  been  full  of  new  emotions. 
The  cuckoo  l  hurrying  through  the  sky,  with  one 
brief  note  or  two  —  a  few  bars  of  a  biwa-song 2 
crooned  by  a  sleepless  man  —  Ah,  what  a  lone- 
some, touching  evening  it  was! 

Thus  I  failed  to  take  part  in  the  battle  of  Nan- 
shan,  and  I  have  no  right  to  recount  the  story  of  that 
severe  struggle,  although  the  title  of  this  chapter 
may  suggest  a  full  recital.  The  only  thing  I  can 
do  is  to  tell  you  in  the  next  chapter  what  I  saw  on 
the  scene  of  the  battle  immediately  after  its  actual 
occurrence.  This  will  be  followed  up  later  by  my 
own  story  of  the  siege  of  Port  Arthur.  Before 
concluding  this  chapter,  however,  I  wish  to  intro- 
duce a  brave  soldier  to  my  readers. 

When  we  were  starting  from  Wangchia-tun  we 
dispatched  a  bicycle  orderly,  Buichi  Kusunoki  by 
name,  to  our  place  of  landing,  Yenta-ao,  to  estab- 
lish communication  between  ourselves  and  those 
who  landed  after  we  did.  This  man  was  known  to 
be  specially  fitted  to  fulfill  such  a  duty;  his  persever- 
ance and  undaunted  courage  had  always  made  him 
successful.  Consequently,  when  we  started  from 
Japan,  he  was  singled  out  from  his  company  as  an 
orderly  attached  to  the  headquarters  of  our  regi- 

1  In  Japanese  poetry  the  cuckoo's  rare  cry  in  the  moonlight 
is  treated  as  particularly  sad  and  dismal. 

2  A  species  of  epic,  or  heroic  ballad,  sung  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  lute,  or  biwa,  which  has  always  been  the  music  of 
*he  Japanese  soldier. 

49 


3ft 


ment.  So,  naturally,  this  first  important  duty  after 
our  landing  devolved  upon  Kusunoki.  Late  in  the 
afternoon,  he  started  for  Yenta-ao  on  his  machine. 
We  had  come  to  Wangchia-tun  through  pathless 
plains — he  could  not  expect  to  go  back  to  Yenta-ao 
without  great  difficulty.  In  a  strange  land,  not  know- 
ing anything  of  the  place  or  the  language,  he  went 
on  with  the  pole-star  as  his  only  guide.  His  duty 
was  very  important.  If  he  had  reached  his  destina- 
tion even  one  hour  later,  much  time  would  have  been 
lost  in  the  movement  of  the  other  detachments.  Of 
course  he  did  not  know  that  Nanshan  was  to  fall 
without  our  help.  He  only  knew  that  our  whole 
regiment  of  reserves  must  be  near  Nanshan,  so  that 
we  could  join  the  battle-line  at  a  moment's  notice. 
This  Kusunoki  was  the  sole  means  of  communica- 
tion by  which  the  two  separate  parts  of  our  regiment 
could  be  brought  together.  On  starting,  he  was  care- 
fully told  of  the  tremendous  responsibility  he  was 
to  undertake.  But  eight  or  nine  ri's  journey  in  the 
pathless  wilderness  of  Liaotung  in  pitch  darkness 
was  not  an  easy  task.  His  bicycle,  instead  of  being 
a  help,  was  a  burden  to  him;  he  had  to  carry  it 
on  his  back  and  run.  He  went  astray  and  could  not 
find  the  right  place  all  night.  Toward  daybreak  he 
hoped  to  be  able  to  find  out  where  he  was,  but  all 
in  vain!  With  nothing  to  eat  or  drink,  he  struggled 
on  without  knowing  whither  he  was  going,  but  pray- 
ing that  he  might  chance  to  reach  the  right  place. 


With  his  mind  in  a  great  hurry,  he  crept  on  all  fours, 
resting  every  now  and  then,  for  his  legs  would  carry 
him  no  further  with  his  machine  on  his  back.  For- 
tunately,  however,  he  came  across  a  sentinel,  who 
showed  him  the  right  way  and  gave  him  something 
to  eat.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  accomplish  his  object 
in  time,  —  though  delayed.  The  orderly,  and  the 
aide-de-camp  as  well,  bears  a  responsibility  much 
greater  than  that  of  an  ordinary  soldier.  The  com- 
mander must  rely  upon  them  if  he  would  move  tens 
of  thousands  of  men  as  easily  as  he  moves  his  own 
fingers.  The  success  or  failure  of  a  whole  army 
often  depends  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  aide-de- 
camp. Therefore  he  must  possess  the  four  import- 
ant qualities  of  courage,  perseverance,  judgment, 
and  prompt  decision.  And  this  Buichi  Kusunoki 
was  a  true  aide-de-camp,  with  bravery  and  faithful- 
ness worthy  of  our  profound  respect. 


NANSHAN  AFTER  THE  BATTLE 

NANSHAN  guards  Chin-chou  at  the  entrance 
to  the  Liaotung  Peninsula.  Though  its  hills 
are  not  steep  or  rugged,  they  go  far  back  in  great 
waves.  The  place  is  convenient  for  defensive  pur- 
poses, but  it  is  inferior  in  this  respect  to  Nankwan- 
ling,  farther  back.  In  the  China- Japan  War,  the 
Chinese  resisted  us  for  a  while  at  this  Nankwanling. 
The  reason  why  the  Russians  preferred  to  fortify 
Nanshan  rather  than  Nankwanling  was  because 
the  former  was  near  Dalny,  their  only  non-freezing 
port.  They  had  chosen  a  spot  on  the  opposite 
shore  from  Lin  Shin  Ton,  the  railway  terminus  at 
the  head  of  Talie  Bay,  and  had  built  there  the 
large  city  of  Dalny,  making  it  their  only  commercial 
port  in  Liaotung  and  the  starting-point  of  the 
Eastern  China  Railway.  In  order  to  protect  this 
port,  they  had  chosen  Nanshan  at  its  back  and  built 
there  a  fortification  of  a  semi-permanent  character. 
For  ten  years  they  had  been  spending  hundreds  of 
millions  in  building  this  city  and  fortifying  Port 
Arthur,  and  at  the  same  time  in  strengthening  this 
important  outpost  of  Nanshan.  We  were  told  by 

52 


a  captured  Russian  staff-officer  that  the  Russians 
had  believed  that  Nanshan  could  stand  the  fiercest 
attacks  of  the  Japanese  for  more  than  half  a  year. 
However,  when  our  second  army  began  to  attack 
the  place,  they  set  at  naught  every  difficulty,  did 
not  grudge  any  amount  of  sacrifice,  and  precipitated 
themselves  upon  the  enemy  so  violently  that  Chin- 
chou,  Nanshan,  and  Dalny  were  all  occupied  in  one 
single  night  and  day  (May  26).  You  can  well  im- 
agine how  desperate  was  this  struggle.  Even  in  the 
China- Japan  War,  the  taking  of  Nankwanling  and 
the  occupation  of  Port  Arthur  were  not  quite  as  easy 
as  to  twist  a  baby's  arm.  But  one  Japanese  officer, 
who  fought  on  both  occasions,  said  to  us,  when  he 
examined  the  elaborate  defenses  of  Nanshan,  that 
the  battle  of  ten  years  before  had  only  been  a 
sham  fight  in  comparison.  We  had  to  sacrifice  over 
four  thousand  men  killed  and  wounded  in  order  to 
take  this  stronghold.  The  scene  after  the  battle 
presented  a  terrible  sight.  True  it  is  that  this  battle 
was  very  mild  compared  with  the  general  assault  on 
Port  Arthur,  but  at  Nanshan  I  saw  for  the  first  time 
in  my  life  the  shocking  scenes  after  a  furious  fight. 
We  managed  somehow  to  pass  the  night  of  the 
26th  at  Chungchia-tun,  and  on  the  next  morning 
we  received  instructions  to  go  out  and  lodge  at 
Yenchia-tun,  a  village  at  the  foot  of  Nanshan. 
The  fifth  and  sixth  companies  of  our  regiment  were 
ordered  to  guard  Nanshan. 

53 


As  soon  as  we  reached  the  top  of  the  steep  hill 
that  I  have  already  mentioned,  an  extensive  rolling 
country  was  before  our  eyes.  At  its  right  was  Chin- 
chou,  while  on  the  left  the  steep  Fahoshangshan 
reared  its  head.  This  was  the  site  of  the  fierce 
battle  of  yesterday.  The  place  was  full  of  re- 
minders of  cannon  roar  and  war-cries;  we  could 
not  stand  the  sight.  Horrible  is  the  only  word  that 
describes  the  scene. 

From  a  hill  in  front  of  us  we  saw  white  smoke 
rising  and  spreading  a  strange  odor  far  and  wide; 
that  was  the  cremation  of  our  brave  dead,  the  altar 
on  which  the  sacrifice  to  the  country  was  being 
burned.  Hundreds  of  patriotic  souls  must  have  risen 
to  heaven  enveloped  in  that  smoke.  We  took  off 
our  caps  and  bowed  to  them.  While  the  mothers 
at  home  were  peacefully  reeling  thread  and  think- 
ing of  their  beloved  sons  at  the  front,  while  the  wives, 
with  their  babies  on  their  backs,  were  sewing  and 
thinking  of  their  dear  husbands,  these  sons  and 
husbands  were  being  crushed  to  pieces  and  turned 
into  volumes  of  smoke. 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  see  even  a  piece  of 'a  blood- 
stained bandage.  It  is  shocking  to  see  dead  bodies 
piled  up  in  this  valley  or  near  that  rock,  dyed  with 
dark  purple  blood,  their  faces  blue,  their  eyelids 
swollen,  their  hair  clotted  with  blood  and  dust, 
their  white  teeth  biting  their  lips,  the  red  of  their 
uniforms  alone  remaining  unchanged.  I  could  not 

54 


help  shuddering  at  the  sight  and  thinking  that  I 
myself  might  soon  become  like  that.  No  one  dared 
to  go  near  and  look  carefully  at  those  corpses.  We 
only  pointed  to  them  from  a  distance  in  horror  and 
disgust.  Everywhere  were  scattered  blood-covered 
gaiters,  pieces  of  uniform  and  underwear,  caps,  and 
so  on;  everywhere  were  loathsome  smells  and  ghastly 
sights.  Innumerable  powder-boxes  and  empty  car- 
tridges, piled  up  near  the  skirmish-trenches,  told  us 
plainly  how  desperately  the  enemy  had  fired  upon 
the  invading  army.  Wherever  we  saw  the  enemy's 
dead  left  on  the  field,  we  could  not  help  sympathiz- 
ing with  them.  They  were  enemies,  but  they  also 
fought  for  their  own  country.  We  buried  them  care- 
fully, but  the  defeated  heroes  of  the  battle  had  no 
names  that  we  could  hand  down  to  posterity.  At 
home  their  parents,  their  wives,  and  their  children 
must  have  been  anxiously  waiting  for  their  safe  re- 
turn, not  knowing,  in  most  cases,  when,  where,  or 
how  their  beloved  ones  had  been  killed.  Almost  all 
of  them  had  a  cross  on  the  chest,  or  an  ikon  in  hand. 
Let  us  hope  that  they  passed  away  with  God's  bless- 
ing and  guidance.  The  killed  and  wounded  of  a 
defeated  army  deserve  the  greatest  pity.  Of  course 
they  are  entitled  to  equal  and  humane  treatment  by 
the  enemy,  according  to  the  International  Red  Cross 
regulations.  But  defeat  we  must  avoid  by  all  means. 
Added  to  the  ignominy  of  defeat,  the  wounded  must 
have  the  sorrow  of  separating  from  their  comrades 

55 


and  living  or  dying  among  perfect  strangers,  with 
whom  they  cannot  even  converse.  The  case  of  the 
killed  is  still  sadder.  Some  had  cards  of  identifica- 
tion, so  that  their  numbers  would  eventually  tell 
their  names.  As  far  as  we  could,  we  informed  the 
enemy  of  those  numbers;  but  there  were  many  in- 
stances where  there  was  no  means  of  identification. 
Their  names  are  buried  in  eternal  obscurity. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  our  temporary  lodg- 
ment at  Yenchia-tun.  When  I  reached  the  native 
house  assigned  for  us  that  evening,  I  heard  next 
door  the  piteous  groanings  of  human  beings.  I  has- 
tened to  the  spot  to  see  the  tortures  of  hell  itself. 
Fifteen  or  sixteen  Japanese,  and  one  Russian,  all 
seriously  wounded,  were  lying  in  the  yard,  heaped 
one  above  another,  and  writhing  in  an  agony  of  pain. 
The  first  one  who  noticed  my  coming  put  his  hands 
together  in  supplication  and  begged  me  for  help. 
What  need  of  his  begging?  To  help  is  our  privilege. 
I  could  not  imagine  why  these  poor  comrades  should 
have  been  left  alone  in  such  a  condition.  If  we  had 
known  earlier,  perhaps  better  assistance  could  have 
been  given.  With  tears  of  sympathy  I  called  in  sur- 
geons and  helped  in  relieving  their  suffering.  While 
the  surgeons  were  attending  to  their  wounds  they 
would  repeat:  "I  shall  never  forget  your  goodness; 
I  am  grateful  to  you."  These  words  were  squeezed 
out  of  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  and  their  eyes  were 
full  of  tears.  On  inquiry  we  learned  that  for  two 

56 


days  they  had  not  had  a  single  grain  of  rice,  or  a 
single  drop  of  water.  They  were  all  very  severely 
wounded,  with  broken  legs,  shattered  arms,  or  bul- 
let wounds  in  head  or  chest.  Some  there  were  who 
could  not  live  more  than  half  an  hour  longer;  even 
these  were  taking  each  other's  hands  or  stroking 
each  other  in  sympathy  and  to  comfort.  How  sad! 
How  pitiful!  How  boundless  must  be  our  sadness 
and  pity  when  we  think  that  there  were  over  four 
thousand  killed  and  wounded  on  our  side  alone,  and 
that  it  was  impossible  to  give  them  the  attention 
they  needed !  In  a  short  time  two  of  the  men  began 
to  lose  color,  and  breathe  faintly.  I  ran  to  their  side 
and  watched.  Their  eyes  gradually  closed  and  their 
lips  ceased  to  quiver.  One  comrade  near  by  told  me 
that  one  of  these  two  had  left  an  old  mother  at  home 
alone. 

One  of  the  most  pitiful  of  sights  is,  perhaps,  the 
dead  or  wounded  war-horses.  They  had  crossed  the 
seas  to  run  and  gallop  in  a  strange  land  among  fly- 
ing bullets  and  the  roar  of  cannon.  They  seemed  to 
think  that  this  was  the  time  to  return  their  masters' 
kindness  in  keeping  them  comfortable  so  long.  With 
their  masters  on  their  backs  they  would  run  about 
so  cheerfully  and  gallantly  on  the  battle-field!  The 
pack-horses  also  seemed  proud  and  anxious  to  show 
their  long- practiced  ability  in  bearing  heavy  bur- 
dens or  drawing  heavy  carts,  without  complaining 
of  their  untold  sufferings.  Their  usefulness  in  war 

57 


is  beyond  description.  The  successful  issue  of  a 
battle  is  due  first  to  the  efforts  of  the  brave  men  and 
officers,  but  we  must  not  forget  what  we  owe  to  the 
help  of  our  faithful  animals.  And  yet  they  are  so 
modest  of  their  merits;  are  contented  with  coarse 
fodder  and  muddy  water;  do  not  grumble  at  con- 
tinual exposure  to  rain  and  snow,  and  think  their 
master's  caress  the  best  comfort  they  can  have. 
Their  manner  of  performing  their  important  duties 
is  almost  equal  to  that  of  soldiers.  But  they  are 
speechless ;  they  cannot  tell  of  wound  or  pain.  Some- 
times they  cannot  get  medicine,  or  even  a  comforting 
pat.  They  writhe  in  agony  and  die  unnoticed,  with 
a  sad  neigh  of  farewell.  Their  bodies  are  not  buried, 
but  are  left  in  the  field  for  wolves  and  crows  to  feed 
upon,  their  big  strong  bones  to  be  bleached  in  the 
wild  storms  of  the  wilderness.  These  loyal  horses 
also  are  heroes  who  die  a  horrible  death  in  the  per- 
formance of  duty;  their  memory  ought  to  be  held  in 
respect  and  gratitude.  My  teacher,  the  Rev.  Kwa- 
tsurin  Nakabayashi, 1  accompanied  our  army  during 
the  war  as  a  volunteer  nurse.  While  taking  care  of 
the  wounded  at  the  front,  he  collected  fragments  of 
shells  to  use  in  erecting  an  image  of  Bato-Kwanon2 

1  A  Buddhist  priest. 

1  Kwanon  is  the  Buddhist  Goddess  of  Mercy.  Bato-Kwanon, 
or  the  Horse-headed  Kwanon,  is  the  special  patroness  of  horses. 
In  the  country  districts  one  may  see  rude  images  of  Bato- 
Kwanon  set  up  by  the  roadside,  to  which  horses  are  brought 
and  offerings  made  by  their  masters  in  their  behalf. 

58 


to  comfort  the  spirits  of  the  horses  that  died  in  the 
war.  This  plan  of  his  has  already  been  carried  out. 
Another  Buddhist  by  the  name  of  Doami  has  been 
urging  an  International  Red  Cross  Treaty  for  horses 
such  as  there  is  now  for  men.  Without  such  a  pro- 
vision he  says  we  cannot  claim  to  be  true  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  humanity.  Our  talk  of  love  and  kindness 
to  animals  will  be  an  empty  sound.  He  is  said  to  be 
agitating  the  introduction  of  such  a  proposition  at 
the  next  Hague  Conference.  Of  course  there  are 
veterinary  surgeons  in  the  army,  but  no  one  can  ex- 
pect them  to  be  able  to  bestow  all  necessary  care  on 
the  unfortunate  animals.  To  supply  this  deficiency 
and  protect  animals  as  best  we  can,  a  Red  Cross  for 
horses  is  a  proposal  worthy  of  serious  attention. 

I  climbed  Nanshan  to  inspect  the  arrangements 
of  the  enemy's  position  there.  Everything  was  al- 
most ideal  in  their  plan  of  defense,  everything  quite 
worthy  of  a  great  military  power.  Besides  the 
wire-entanglements,  pitfalls,  ground-mines,  strong 
lines  of  trenches  went  round  and  round  the  moun- 
tain, embrasure  holes  for  machine  guns  were  seen 
everywhere,  a  large  number  of  heavy  guns  thrust 
out  their  muzzles  from  many  a  fort.  As  the  place 
was  fortified  in  a  semi-permanent  style,  there  were 
barracks  and  storehouses,  and  the  latter  were  filled 
with  all  kinds  of  winter  clothing.  There  was  a  rail- 
way and  also  a  battery.  When  I  entered  a  building 
used  as  the  headquarters  of  the  commander,  I  was 

59 


astonished  to  find  how  luxuriously  and  comfortably 
he  had  lived  there.  His  rooms  were  beautifully  fur- 
nished, hardly  reminding  one  of  camp  life.  What 
was  most  curious,  night  garments  and  toilet  articles 
of  a  feminine  nature  as  well  as  children's  clothes 
were  scattered  here  and  there. 

From  this  spot  I  looked  through  field-glasses  far 
to  the  eastern  seacoast,  where  were  countless  men 
and  horses  lying  on  the  beach  washed  by  the  gray 
waves.  They  were  the  remains  of  the  Cavalry  Bri- 
gade of  the  enemy,  who  had  been  stationed  about 
Laohu-shan  to  defend  the  right  flank  of  their  lines. 
Our  Fourth  Division  surprised  them  from  behind, 
from  the  west  coast ;  they  had  no  way  of  retreat,  were 
driven  into  the  sea,  and  thus  were  almost  all  drowned. 
This  defeat  was  self -inflicted,  in  so  far  as  they  had 
relied  too  much  upon  the  strength  of  their  position 
and  thus  lost  the  opportunity  for  a  timely  retreat. 

Half-way  up  the  mountain  we  saw  a  damaged 
search-light  and  a  pile  of  rockets.  These  were  the 
things  that  often  impeded  our  attempts  at  coming 
near  the  enemy  under  cover  of  night.  The  search- 
light had  been  damaged  by  our  men  in  revenge  after 
the  occupation  of  the  place,  because  they  had  been 
so  severely  harassed  by  the  machine. 

The  scene  before  my  eyes  filled  my  heart  with 
grief  and  sorrow.  Hour  after  hour  the  wooden  posts 
to  mark  the  burial-places  of  the  dead  increased  in 
number.  On  my  trip  of  observation  from  Nanshan 

60 


to  Chin-choul  noticed  a  mound  of  loose  earth,  with  a 
bamboo  stick  planted  on  it.  I  stepped  on  the  mound 
to  see  what  it  was.  I  was  shocked  to  discover  a  dead 
Russian  underneath.  It  was  my  first  experience  of 
stepping  on  a  corpse,  and  I  cannot  forget  the  hor- 
ror I  felt.  At  that  time  I  had  not  yet  tasted  a  fight 
and  therefore  could  not  help  shuddering  at  its  tragic 
and  sinful  effects.  It  is  almost  curious  to  think  of  it 
now,  for  the  oftener  flying  bullets  are  encountered 
the  less  sensitive  we  become  to  the  horrors  of  war. 
What  is  shocking  and  sickening  becomes  a  matter 
of  indifference.  Familiarity  takes  off  the  edge  of 
sensibility.  If  we  should  continue  to  be  so  shocked 
and  disgusted  we  could  not  survive  the  strain. 

For  sixteen  hours  our  army  persevered,  braved 
the  cross-firing  of  the  enemy,  and  finally  captured 
Nanshan  after  several  assaults  with  a  large  sacrifice 
of  precious  lives.  We  thus  acquired  the  key  to  the 
whole  peninsula  of  Chin-chou,  cut  off  the  communi- 
cation of  the  enemy,  were  enabled  to  begin  the  clear- 
ing of  Talien  Bay  unmolested,  and  also  to  make  all 
necessary  preparations  for  the  general  attack  on 
Port  Arthur.  Our  victory  at  Nanshan  was  a  record- 
breaking  event  in  the  annals  of  warfare.  And  this 
signal  success  was  won,  not  through  the  power  of 
powder  and  gun,  but  primarily  through  the  courage 
and  perseverance  of  our  men.  During  the  battle, 
when  the  third  assault  failed  of  success,  the  com- 
mander, General  Oku,  cried  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 

61 


"  What  sort  of  athing  is  Yamato-damashi  ?  "  Where- 
upon the  whole  army  gained  fresh  strength,  drew 
one  long  breath,  and  took  the  place  by  storm.  Sir 
Claude  MacDonald  said  that  the  secret  of  Japan's 
unbroken  record  of  success  in  this  war  was  in  the 
"men  behind  the  guns."  This  battle  of  Nanshan 
was  a  demonstration  of  their  quality. 


A 


DIGGING  AND  SCOUTING 

IT  was  on  the  28th  of  May  that  we  went  to  Chang- 
chia-tun  from  Yenchia-tun  to  take  the  place  of 
the  defense  corps  of  the  Third  Division.  After  Nan- 
shan  our  division  was  separated  from  the  Second 
Army  under  Oku,  and  attached  to  the  newly  organ- 
ized Third  Army  for  the  siege  of  Port  Arthur.  It 
was  not  a  long  march  from  Yenchia-tun  to  Chang- 
chia-tun,  but  whenever  I  think  about  marching  I 
cannot  help  remembering  this  particular  occasion. 
Round  about  Port  Arthur  the  ground  is  covered 
with  rocks  and  pebbles;  all  the  other  places  on  the 
peninsula  are  covered  with  earth  like  rice  bran  or 
ashes,  which  fills  the  mouth,  eyes,  and  nose.  Swift 
winds  stirred  up  clouds  of  dust,  filling  the  throat  and 
threatening  to  swallow  the  long  snake-like  line  of 
marching  men.  Often  we  could  not  see  an  inch 
ahead  and  our  line  of  men  was  in  danger  of  discon- 
nection. Even  the  cooked  rice  in  our  lunch  boxes 
was  filled  with  the  dust.  On  other  occasions  we  had 
marched  ten  or  twenty  ri's  without  resting  day  or 
night,  had  covered  sometimes  a  distance  of  more 
than  ten  ri's  on  the  double-quick,  had  made  a  forced 

63 


march  without  a  drop  of  drinking  water,  or  had 
marched  in  pitch  darkness ;  but  all  our  previous  ex- 
periences of  this  kind  were  nothing  compared  with 
the  hardships  of  this  dust-covered  march.  If  this  is 
the  price  for  the  honor  of  taking  part  in  a  real  war, 
we  have  certainly  paid  it.  Toil  and  hardship  of 
course  we  were  ready  for,  but  while  our  minds  were 
prepared  for  bayonets  and  bullets,  at  first  we  felt  it 
a  torture  to  fight  with  Nature  herself,  to  cross  the 
wilderness,  climb  the  mountains,  fight  with  rain 
and  wind,  with  heat  and  cold,  and  sleep  on  the  beds 
of  grass.  But  very  soon  we  began  to  philosophize, 
and  to  think  that  this  was  also  an  important  part  of 
our  warfare,  and  this  idea  made  us  take  kindly  to 
the  fight  with  the  elements  and  with  Nature.  Event- 
ually we  learned  to  enjoy  sleeping  in  the  spacious 
mansion  of  millet  fields,  or  in  rock-built  castles, 
viewing  the  moon  and  listening  in  our  beds  to  the 
singing  of  insects. 

Marching  without  a  halt,  we  reached  Chang- 
chia-tun  and  took  the  place  of  the  Third  Division 
men.  When  we  saw  these  men  for  the  first  time, 
we  felt  ashamed  of  our  own  inexperience  and  wished 
to  sneak  out  of  their  sight.  They  seemed  to  us 
crowned  with  glory  for  their  great  achievement  at 
Nanshan,  and  we  felt  like  country  people  who  had 
missed  the  train,  looking  at  the  trail  of  smoke  with 
mouths  wide  open  in  disappointment.  We  envied 
them,  picturing  to  ourselves  their  clothes  torn  and 

64 


bloodstained  and  their  skins  covered  with  fresh 
wounds  of  honor.  We  looked  up  to  them  with  love 
and  reverence,  admiring  their  dust-covered  caps 
and  bloodstained  gaiters.  Their  very  countenances, 
their  very  demeanor,  seemed  to  recount  eloquently 
their  glorious  exploits. 

The  right  centre  of  our  line  of  defense  was  an 
eminence  facing  the  enemy's  front.  But  our  whole 
line  covered  a  distance  of  twenty-five  kilometres 
from  Antsu-shan  at  one  end  to  Taitzu-shan  at  the 
other,  with  the  pass  of  Mantutsu  in  the  middle.  Just 
north  of  this  pass  is  the  village  of  Lichia-tun,  and  our 
own  battalion  occupied  a  line  extending  from  this 
village  at  its  right  to  the  village  of  Yuchia-tun  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  beyond  which  lay  a  range 
of  hills.  There  we  raised  strong  works,  diligently 
sought  our  enemy,  and  busily  engaged  ourselves  in 
preparations  for  defense  and  attack.  In  the  mean- 
time General  Nogi  and  his  staff  landed  at  Yenta-ao 
and  reached  Peh-Paotsu-yai,  a  village  about  three 
ri's  to  the  northwest  of  Dalny.  With  his  arrival  the 
organization  of  the  Third  Army  was  completed. 
How  eagerly,  then,  did  we  wait  for  the  first  chance 
of  fighting! 

The  enemy,  though  defeated  at  Nanshan,  had  of 
course  been  reluctant  to  give  up  Dalny;  but  they 
had  been  obliged  to  run  for  their  lives,  and  they  and 
their  wives  and  children  escaped  toward  the  bottom 
of  the  bag,  that  is,  Port  Arthur,  burning  down  the 

65 


village  of  Sanshihli-pu  on  their  way  thither.  They 
had  fortified  a  strong  line,  connecting  the  hills, 
Pantu,  Lwanni-chiao,  Waitu,  Shwangting,  etc. 
The  distance  between  the  Russian  and  Japanese 
lines  was  between  three  and  five  thousand  metres. 
This  much  of  the  enemy's  condition  and  position 
we  ascertained  through  the  hard  work  of  scouts  and 
scouting  parties. 

As  soon  as  we  were  stationed  on  the  line  of  de- 
fense, we  began  on  the  very  first  day  to  work  with 
pickaxes  and  shovels.  A  special  spot  was  assigned 
to  each  cavalry  battalion  and  infantry  company, 
and  each  group  of  men,  in  its  own  place,  hurried  day 
and  night,  digging  trenches  for  skirmishers.  The 
officers  acted  as  "bosses,"  the  non-commissioned 
officers  as  foremen,  and  the  men  themselves  as  coolies, 
— all  were  engaged  in  digging  earth.  All  the  while 
scouts,  both  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers, 
were  being  dispatched  to  find  out  the  enemy's  move- 
ments. No  alarm  had  come  yet ;  the  engineering  work 
made  daily  progress.  The  trenches  for  skirmishers 
and  bomb-proofs  for  the  cavalry,  forming  the  first 
line  of  defense,  grew  steadily,  their  breastworks 
strengthened  by  sand-bags  the  sacking  for  which 
had  been  brought  from  Dalny.  A  simple  kind  of 
wire-entanglement  was  also  put  up,  a  good  road 
was  made,  short  cuts  connecting  different  bodies  of 
men  were  laid  out  like  cobwebs ;  thus  our  defenses 
assumed  almost  a  half-permanent  character.  The 

66 


soldiers  either  utilized  village  dwellings,  or  pitched 
tents  in  the  yards  or  under  the  trees.  When  all  these 
necessary  preparations  were  fairly  complete,  more  f\ 
scouts  and  scouting  parties  began  to  go  off  to  find 
out  the  movements  and  whereabouts  of  the  enemy. 
At  a  military  review  or  manoeuvres  in  time  of 
peace,  the  men  look  gay  and  comfortable,  but  on 
the  real  battle-field  they  have  to  try  a  true  life-and- 
death  match  with  the  enemy.  In  the  readiness  and 
morale  of  the  men  while  on  the  outposts  lies  the  out- 
come of  the  actual  encounter.  Therefore  men  on 
the  line  of  defense  cannot  sleep  at  ease  at  night,  or 
kindle  fires  to  warm  themselves.  The  night  is  the 
time  when  they  must  be  most  vigilant  and  wide- 
awake. The  patrols  on  the  picket  line  and  the  scouts 
far  in  front  must  try  to  take  in  everything.  How- 
ever tired  they  may  be  from  their  day's  work,  at  night 
they  must  not  allow  even  a  singing  insect  or  a  flying 
bird  to  pass  unnoticed.  Holding  their  breath  and 
keeping  their  heads  cool,  they  must  use  their  sight 
and  hearing  for  the  whole  army  behind  them,  with 
the  utmost  vigilance.  When  people  talk  of  war, 
they  usually  forget  the  toil  and  responsibility  of 
the  men  on  the  picket  line,  they  talk  only  of  their 
behavior  on  the  field  of  battle.  Because  this  duty 
was  neglected,  three  regiments  of  the  English  army 
in  the  War  of  Independence,  1777,  were  annihilated 
by  the  Americans  through  the  fault  of  one  single 
sentinel. 

67 


"Halt!  Halt!  Who  goes  there?" 

The  sentinel's  cry  adds  to  the  loneliness  of  an 
anxious  night.  One  or  two  shots  suddenly  sound 
through  the  silent  darkness;  it  is  probable  that 
the  enemy's  pickets  have  been  discovered.  Quiet 
prevails  once  more;  the  night  is  far  advanced.  A 
bank  of  dark  clouds  starts  from  the  north,  spreads 
quickly  and  covers  the  whole  sky  with  an  inky 
color,  and  the  rain  begins  to  fall  drop  by  drop. 
This  experience  on  the  picket  line,  keeping  a 
sharp  eye  on  the  enemy  all  the  time,  continued  for 
about  thirty  days. 

By  the  time  our  line  of  defense  was  in  proper 
order,  the  enemy  began  to  show  their  heads.  Every 
night  there  was  the  report  of  rifles  near  our  line  of 
patrols. 

"Captain,  five  or  six  of  the  enemy's  infantry 
scouts  appeared,  and  then  suddenly  disappeared,  in 
a  valley  five  or  six  hundred  metres  ahead."  Such 
a  report  was  repeated  over  and  over  again  in  the 
course  of  one  day  and  night.  Soon  we  began  to  try 
various  contrivances  to  capture  the  enemy's  scouts 
on  our  line  of  patrol.  One  of  them  was  this :  about 
twenty  ken l  away  from  our  line  a  piece  of  rope  was 
stretched,  to  that  rope  another  piece  was  fastened, 
one  end  of  it  leading  to  the  spot  where  our  patrol 
was  standing.  The  idea  was  that  if  the  enemy 
walked  against  the  first  rope  the  second  would  com- 

1  The  ken  measures  about  six  feet. 

68 


municate  the  vibration  to  the  patrol  man.  Once 
when  the  signal  came,  and  the  men  hurried  to 
capture  the  enemy,  no  human  being  was  in  sight, 
but  a  large  black  dog  stood  barking  and  snarling 
at  them. 


THE  FIRST   CAPTIVES 

OUR  scouts  were  gradually  increased  in  num- 
ber; not  only  from  the  troops  on  the  first 
line,  but  also  from  the  reserves  at  the  rear,  scouts 
were  dispatched  one  after  another.  Almost  always 
they  were  successful.  They  either  came  across  a 
small  body  of  the  enemy  and  dispersed  them,  or 
else  they  came  back  with  the  report  of  a  place 
where  a  larger  force  was  stationed.  Such  a  success 
was  always  welcome  to  the  commander  of  the  bri- 
gade or  of  the  regiment.  Because  we  had  not  yet 
encountered  the  enemy,  we  were  all  very  anxious  to 
be  sent  out  as  scouts,  in  order  to  have  a  chance  of 
trying  our  hand  on  the  foe. 

It  was  on  the  2oth  of  June,  if  I  remember  cor- 
rectly, that  one  of  our  officers,  Lieutenant  Toki, 
started  out,  with  half  a  company  of  men  under  him, 
to  reconnoitre  the  enemy  about  Lwanni-chiao,  but 
did  not  come  across  any  Russians.  He  left  a  small 
detachment  as  a  rear-guard  and  started  back.  Un- 
expectedly two  Russian  scouts  appeared  between 
his  men  and  this  rear-guard.  They  were  sur- 
rounded, but  offered  stubborn  resistance  with  bay- 

70 


onets  and  would  not  surrender.  They  were  fired 
at,  and  fell,  though  still  alive.  They  were  our  first 
captives  and  we  were  anxious  to  question  them. 
They  were  placed  on  straw  mat  stretchers  made 
on  the  spot  to  suit  the  occasion,  and  carried  in 
triumph  to  the  side  of  a  brook  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  headquarters  of  our  regiment.  This  was 
our  first  bag  of  captives.  The  men  swarmed  around 
the  poor  Russians,  eager  to  enjoy  the  first  sight  of 
prisoners-of-war.  Presently  came  the  aide-de-camp 
of  the  brigade  and  an  interpreter.  The  two  captives 
were  put  in  different  places  and  examined  sepa- 
rately. This  was  according  to  the  recognized  rule  of 
separate  cross-questioning,  so  that  the  real  truth 
may  be  inferred  through  comparison  and  synthesis 
of  the  different  assertions  of  different  prisoners.  In 
examining  them,  the  first  questions  put  are,  what 
army,  division,  etc.,  do  they  belong  to,  who  are  their 
high  commanders,  where  did  they  stay  the  previous 
night,  how  is  the  morale  of  their  army,  etc.  Even 
when  we  have  no  time  to  go  through  all  these  ques- 
tions, we  must  find  out  what  they  belong  to,  in  order 
to  ascertain  the  disposition  of  the  enemy's  forces.  If, 
for  instance,  they  say  they  belong  to  the  First  Regi- 
ment of  Infantry  sharpshooters,  we  can  infer  from 
that  statement  who  the  commander  is  and  what  is 
his  probable  plan  of  campaign. 

Our  surgeons  gave  the  captives  proper  medical 
care  and  comforted  them,  saying:  "Depend  upon 


it,  we  shall  take  good  care  of  you.  Be  at  your 
ease  and  answer  truthfully  whatever  is  asked  of 
you." 

The  surgeons  told  us  that  both  Russians  had  been 
shot  through  the  chest  and  would  not  live  an  hour 
longer,  and  therefore  that  it  was  advisable  to  put 
only  a  few  important  questions  while  they  retained 
consciousness.  One  of  the  examiners  said:  "Of 
what  regiment  and  of  what  place  are  you?" 

The  poor  captive  answered,  gaspingly:  "The 
Twenty-sixth  Regiment  of  Infantry  sharpshooters." 
"  Who  is  the  commander  of  your  division  ?  "  "  Don't 
know."  The  interpreter  expostulated.  "You  can't 
say  you  don't  know.  You  ought  to  know  the  name 
of  your  own  commander." 

The  captive  showed  his  sincerity  in  his  counte- 
nance; probably  he  meant  what  he  said.  He  was 
breathing  with  difficulty,  and  blood  was  running 
out  of  his  mouth. 

"Please  give  me  a  drink  of  water." 

I  was  standing  nearest  to  him  and  obtained  a 
glass  of  spring  water.  When  I  gave  him  to  drink 
he  would  not  even  look  at  it. 

"There  is  boiled  water  in  my  bottle;  give  me 
that." 

I  did  as  was  requested.  I  do  not  know  whether 
this  Russian,  even  in  his  last  moments,  disdained 
to  receive  a  drink  from  the  enemy,  but  I  was  struck 
with  his  carefulness  in  observing  the  rules  of  hy- 

72 


giene  and  not  drinking  unboiled  water.  Because 
of  this  strength  of  character,  he  had  bravely  fought 
with  our  scouting  party  until  he  was  struck  down,  'fl 
But  he  was  not  the  only  Russian  soldier  who  did 
not  know  the  name  of  his  commanding  general. 
Afterwards  when  I  had  chances  of  cross-questioning 
a  large  number  of  captives,  I  found  out  that  the  ma- 
jority of  them  were  equally  ignorant.  Moreover, 
they  did  not  know  for  what  or  for  whom  they  were 
fighting.  Nine  men  out  of  ten  would  say  that  they 
had  been  driven  to  the  field  without  knowing  why 
or  wherefore. 

No  more  time  was  allowed  for  questioning  this 
captive.  He  became  whiter  and  whiter,  breathed 
with  more  and  more  difficulty;  his  end  was  fast 
approaching.  The  surgeon  said:  "Do  you  suffer? 
Have  you  any  thing  to  say?" 

At  these  kind  words  he  raised  his  head  a  little 
and  said,  with  tears:  "I  have  left  my  wife  and 
one  child  in  my  country;  please  let  them  know  how 
I  died." 

He  breathed  his  last  soon  afterward.  This  man 
sacrificed  his  life  without  knowing  what  for.  To  be 
driven  to  the  far-away  East,  to  be  captured  by  the 
enemy,  and  die  thinking  of  his  wife  and  child !  He 
brought  tears  of  sympathy  to  our  eyes.  He  was 
honorably  buried  under  a  cross,  and  Chaplain  To- 
yama  offered  Buddhist  prayers. 

The  other  captive  was  different  in  his  attitude 

73 


and  manners,  and  we  were  far  from  pitying  him.  Of 
course  we  had  no  personal  enmity  toward  him,  or 
toward  any  one  of  the  Russian  fighters,  and  there- 
fore we  were  quite  ready  to  pity  those  worthy  of  pity, 
to  love  those  worthy  of  love.  But  what  do  you  think 
we  found  in  this  particular  one? 

When  the  interpreter  asked  the  man,  "Where 
is  your  regiment  stationed  now?"  his  answer  was 
something  like  this:  "Shut  up!  I  don't  know.  The 
Japanese  are  cruel;  they  are  merciless  to  those 
who  surrender.  Give  me  some  soup  to  drink ;  give 
me  some  tobacco." 

This  rude  remark  and  behavior  came,  not  from 
true  courage,  that  does  not  fear  the  enemy,  but  from 
sheer  insolence.  Other  men  whom  we  captured 
later  were  worthy  of  a  similar  description. 

Although  the  Russians  had  been  badly  defeated 
at  Nanshan,  they  did  not  yet  know  what  was  the 
real  ability  of  the  Japanese  army;  and  relying  upon 
the  so-called  invincible  strength  of  Port  Arthur  be- 
hind them,  they  made  light  of  their  small-statured 
enemy.  They  were  also  like  the  frogs  in  the  well,1 
and  did  not  know  anything  of  our  great  victory  of 
Chinlien-cheng  and  that  the  Russians  had  been  en- 
tirely expelled  from  Korea.  Even  when  they  were 
told  of  these  facts,  they  would  not  believe  them. 
Boasting  of  the  mere  size  of  their  country  and  army, 

1  Japanese  proverb:  The  frog  in  the  well  knows  not  the 
great  ocean. 

74 


when  were  the  Russians  to  awake  from  their  delud- 
ing dreams? 

Day  and  night  we  tried  hard  to  find  out  the  ene-  'f\t 
my's  whereabouts.  One  time  a  large  reconnoitring 
detachment  was  sent  out,  when  they  came  across  a 
body  of  Russian  cavalry,  many  of  whom  were  killed 
and  their  horses  captured  by  our  men.  The  enemy 
also  was  watching  us  incessantly,  and  away  on  the 
top  of  Waitu-shan  a  corps  of  observation  equipped 
with  telescopes  was  seen  constantly  giving  signals 
with  black  flags.  Sometimes  they  would  send  out 
scouts  dressed  as  Chinese  natives  to  spy  our  ad- 
vance lines.  At  first  we  were  deceived  by  their  ap- 
pearance and  some  of  our  patrols  were  killed  in  an 
unguarded  moment.  Then  we  learned  to  be  more 
careful  and  did  not  allow  even  the  real  Chinese  to 
cross  our  line.  Upon  one  occasion  the  mayor  of  the 
village  in  front  of  us  asked  for  permission  to  come 
within  the  Japanese  line,  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  greatly  inconvenienced  by  not  being  allowed 
to  cross  it.  After  that  the  headquarters  of  the  bri- 
gade appointed  a  special  committee  to  investigate 
into  individual  cases,  and  only  those  Chinese  who 
had  families  or  relatives  living  inside  the  line  were 
allowed  to  come  over.  Of  course  the  Chinese  would 
do  almost  anything  for  money.  There  were  many 
who  had  been  bribed  by  the  Russians  to  become 
spies.  They  caused  us  a  great  deal  of  damage  in 
spite  of  every  possible  precaution. 

75 


Thus  we  were  kept  busy  with  necessary  prepara^ 
tions  for  an  actual  engagement,  waiting  for  the  right 
opportunity  to  present  itself.  For  strategic  reasons, 
we  did  not  take  an  offensive  attitude  for  some  time, 
leaving  everything  to  the  choice  of  the  enemy,  with 
the  mere  precaution  against  a  surprise  by  the  Rus- 
sians. Meanwhile  the  enemy's  navy  appeared  near 
Hsiaoping-tao  and  Hehshih-chiao  and  tried  to  find 
out  our  place  of  encampment  by  firing  at  us  at  ran- 
dom. At  last  the  time  came  for  us  to  begin  active 
operations.  On  the  26th  of  June,  the  besieging 
army  commenced  hostilities  and  our  regiment  par- 
ticipated in  the  battle  of  Waitu-shan  and  Kenzan. 


OUR    FIRST    BATTLE  AT   WAITU- 
SHAN 

FOR  about  thirty  days  we  had  waited  for  a  good 
opportunity,  fortifying  ourselves  strongly,  and 
engaged  in  constant  skirmishes  with  the  enemy. 
There  was,  however,  one  thing  that  we  could  not 
permit,  and  that  was  that  the  enemy  was  able  to 
look  down  into  our  camp  from  various  high  points 
in  their  position.  They  occupied  Waitu-shan,  372 
metres  in  height,  Shuangting-shan,  a  double- peaked 
mountain,  of  352  metres,  and  a  nameless  mountain, 
which  we  afterward  christened  Kenzan,  or  Sword 
Mountain,  higher  and  steeper  than  the  first  two. 
These  mountains  were  secure  from  our  attack,  and 
from  these  eminences  the  enemy  could  spy  us  very 
well  and  comfortably.  They  set  up  fine  telescopes 
on  these  places  and  took  in  what  we  were  doing  in 
our  camp,  in  the  Bay  of  Talien,  and  in  Dalny.  This 
was  a  great  disadvantage  to  us.  The  longer  they  oc- 
cupied those  heights,  the  longer  our  necessary  pre- 
parations at  the  rear  must  be  delayed  and  the  right 
opportunity  to  advance  and  strike  might  be  lost. 
So  it  was  an  urgent  necessity  to  take  these  places 

77 


of  vantage,  and  also  to  take  Hsiaoping-tao  in  order 
to  prevent  the  enemy's  warships  from  threatening 
our  defenses  of  Talien  Bay.  This  was  the  reason 
for  our  first  battle,  an  attack  on  Waitu-shan. 

This  was  not  a  severe  battle;  its  object  was  simply 
to  drive  away  the  enemy  occupying  these  heights. 
Because  of  the  natural  strength  of  the  place,  the 
Russians  had  not  done  much  to  protect  or  fortify  it, 
and  it  was  comparatively  easy  for  us  to  attack.  But 
this  was  the  first  fight  for  us,  and  we  fought  it  with 
special  fervor  and  determination. 

Late  in  the  night  of  the  25th,  the  last  day  of 
our  defensive  attitude,  when  the  watch-fires  of  the 
camps  were  going  out,  and  the  occasional  braying 
of  donkeys  added  to  the  solitude  of  the  hour,  a 
secret  order  was  brought  to  us  to  begin  at  once  to 
prepare  for  fighting.  Why  was  this  message  given 
at  midnight?  Because  of  fear  of  the  natives.  It 
had  been  arranged  that  our  march  and  attack  should 
begin  on  the  24th,  but  when  we  began  to  make 
preparations  for  starting,  we  soon  found  reason  to 
suspect  the  natives  of  having  informed  the  enemy 
of  our  movements  and  intentions.  So  we  stopped 
for  that  day,  and  daybreak  of  the  26th  was  as- 
signed for  the  attack,  so  that  we  could  begin  our 
march  before  the  natives  knew  anything  of  it.  That 
night  I  could  hardly  sleep  for  excitement;  I  tossed 
and  fretted  in  bed,  pictured  to  myself  the  battle  of 
the  morrow,  or  talked  nonsense  with  the  comrade 

78 


in  the  nearest  bed.  I  saw  the  occasional  flickering 
of  small  fires  in  the  dark  and  knew  that  not  a  few 
were  awake,  smoking  and  cogitating.  i^ 

Very  soon  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  camp  was 
filled  with  quiet  activity;  officers  and  men  jumped 
out  of  bed  and  began  to  fold  tents  and  overcoats  as 
noiselessly  as  possible.  Putting  on  our  creaking 
knapsacks  with  the  utmost  caution,  we  crept  with 
stealthy  tread  across  the  grass,  and  gathering  at  one 
spot  stacked  our  rifles.  The  sky  was  inky  black  with 
summer  clouds;  the  bayonets  and  the  stars  on  our 
caps  were  the  only  things  that  glittered  in  the  dark. 
Though  their  eyes  were  dull  and  sleepy,  all  were 
eager  and  determined  in  spirit. 

"Have  you  left  nothing  behind?  Are  all  the  fires 
out?" 

All  at  once  the  whole  line  became  silent  and  be- 
gan to  move  on  at  the  command  "March  silently." 
We  had  to  keep  very  still  until  we  were  fairly  out  of 
the  village,  so  that  when  the  Chinese  got  up  in  the 
morning  they  would  be  surprised  at  our  absence. 
This  was  the  time  for  us  to  put  in  practice  the  quiet 
march,  in  which  we  had  had  much  previous  train- 
ing. Even  a  month's  stay  in  the  place  had  endeared 
to  us,  to  some  extent,  the  rivers  and  hills;  the  village 
had  come  to  seem  a  sort  of  second  home.  How 
could  we  be  indifferent  to  the  tree  that  had  given  us 
shelter  and  to  the  stream  that  had  given  us  drink? 
Among  the  villagers  there  was  an  old  man  by  the 

79 


name  of  Chodenshin,  a  descendant  of  a  refugee  of 
the  Ming  dynasty.  He  had  helped  us  very  faith- 
fully, drawing  water  in  the  morning,  and  kindling 
fires  in  the  evening.  This  good  man  discovered  that 
we  were  going,  and  worked  all  the  night  through  to 
help  us.  When  we  began  the  march,  he  came  to  the 
end  of  the  village  to  see  us  off.  Of  course  we  could 
not  forget  such  a  man,  and  every  now  and  then  we 
used  to  talk  about  his  faithful  services. 

The  morning  mist  enshrouded  the  sky  and  the  sun 
had  not  yet  risen.  The  Sun  Flag  was  at  the  head  of 
our  long  line  of  march.  Far  away  toward  the  right 
flank  several  shots  were  heard.  Had  the  battle  really 
begun? 

At  this  moment  both  the  right  and  left  columns 
of  our  army  began  action,  the  right  one  to  attack 
the  height  to  the  southwest  of  the  village  of  Pantu, 
and  the  left  to  attack  the  enemy's  entrenchments 
on  the  heights  to  the  east  of  the  village  of  Lwanni- 
chiao,  that  is,  from  the  368-metre  hill  (Kenzan) 
on  the  north,  along  the  ridge  to  Shuangting-shan 
in  the  south. 

Our  —  that  is,  the  middle  —  division  of  the  left 
column  was  assigned  to  attack  Waitu-shan.  We 
marched  quietly,  binding  the  horses'  tongues,  furl- 
ing our  flag,  and  trailing  our  arms.  When  we  came 
close  to  the  place,  the  enemy  poured  a  fierce  volley 
on  us  from  the  top  of  the  hill  and  offered  stubborn 
resistance.  Brave,  worthy  foe !  We  responded  with 

80 


a  brisk  fire  and  sent  showers  of  bullets  and  shells. 
They  were  on  an  eminence  and  we  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill;  their  shots  fell  like  rain  on  our  heads  and  raised 
dust  at  our  feet.  At  last  the  curtain  of  our  first  act 
was  raised.  This  was  our  first  chance  to  compare 
our  strength  with  theirs.  The  coming  and  going  of 
bullets  and  shells  became  fiercer  and  fiercer  as  time 
went  on.  The  exploding  gas  of  the  smokeless  pow- 
der filled  the  whole  field  with  a  vile  smell.  The 
sound  of  the  opening  and  shutting  of  the  breech- 
blocks of  the  guns,  the  sound  of  empty  cartridges 
jumping  out,  the  moaning  of  the  bullets,  the  groan- 
ing of  the  shells,  wounding  as  they  fell,  how  stirring, 
how  sublime!  The  cry  "Forward!  Forward!"  rises 
on  every  side.  Steep  hills  and  sword-like  rocks  are 
braved  and  climbed  at  a  quick,  eager  pace;  the 
cartridges  rattle  in  their  cases;  the  sword  jumps; 
the  heart  dances.  March  and  shoot,  shoot  and 
march!  The  enemy's  shot  rain  hard;  our  bullets 
fly  windward.  The  battle  has  become  fierce. 

Until  we  have  pierced  the  body  of  the  foe  with  our 
shot,  we  must  continue  to  harass  them  with  our  fire. 
The  bayonet  is  the  finishing  touch;  the  guns  must 
play  a  large  part  in  a  battle.  So,  therefore,  we  must 
be  very  careful  in  shooting.  When  the  fighting  once 
begins,  we  begin  to  dance  from  the  top  of  the  head 
to  the  tip  of  the  toe,  we  lose  ourselves  in  excitement, 
but  that  does  not  do.  It  is  very  difficult  to  act  coolly, 
but  the  aiming  and  the  pulling  of  the  trigger  must 

81 


be  done  deliberately,  however  noisy  the  place  may 
be,  however  bloody  the  scene.  This  is  the  secret 
determining  who  shall  be  the  victor. 

"  Pull  the  trigger  as  carefully  and  gently 
As  the  frost  falls  in  the  cold  night," 

is  the  poem  teaching  the  secret.  Such  a  cool,  delib- 
erate shot  is  sure  to  hit  the  mark.  The  enemy  fall 
one  after  another.  Then  follows  the  final  assault 
(tokkwan),  then  the  triumphal  tune  is  sung,  the 
Kimi  ga  yo1  is  played,  and  Banzai  to  the  Emperor 
is  shouted.  This  is  the  natural  order  of  events. 

The  spirit  of  the  men  on  the  firing  line  improved 
steadily;  the  battle-field  became  more  and  more 
active.  The  number  of  the  wounded  increased 
moment  after  moment.  Cries  of  "A-a!"  sounded 
from  every  side,  as  the  bullets  found  their  mark 
and  men  fell  to  earth  unconscious. 

The  final  opportunity  was  fast  coming  toward 
us;  the  enemy  began  to  waver.  One  foot  forward, 
another  foot  backward,  they  were  in  a  half-hearted 
condition.  'T  is  time  for  "Tokkan!  Tokkan!"  2  the 

1  Kimi  ga  yo,  the  national  hymn,  which  may  be  roughly  trans- 
lated thus:  — 

May  our  Lord's  dominion  last, 
Till  ten  thousand  years  have  passed 
And  the  stone 

On  the  shore  at  last  has  grown 
To  a  great  rock,  mossy  and  gray. 

2  The  words  tokkwan,  translated  "final  assault,"  and  this 
word,  Tokkan,  meaning  the  war-cry,  belong  close  together  in 
thought  as  in  sound.  The  "Tokkan!"  which  has  been  retained 

82 


time  for  a  shout  like  the  beating  on  a  broken  bell 
and  for  a  dash  at  the  foe.  Lo!  a  fierce  rain  of  rifle- 
shot  falls,  followed  by  the  shouting  of  a  hundred 
thunders ;  mountains  and  valleys  shake ;  heaven  and 
earth  quake.  Captain  Murakami,  commander  of 
the  company,  shouting  tremendously  and  brandish- 
ing his  long  sword,  rushes  forward.  All  the  soldiers 
follow  his  example  and  pierce  the  enemy's  line, 
shouting,  screaming,  dancing,  and  jumping.  This 
done,  the  Russians  turn  their  backs  on  us  and  run 
for  their  lives,  leaving  behind  arms,  powder,  caps, 
etc.  How  cleverly  and  quickly  they  scamper  away ! 
That  at  least  deserves  our  praise. 

Waitu-shan  became  ours  once  for  all.  We  did  not 
fight  a  very  hard  fight,  but  this  our  first  success  was 
like  a  stirrup  cup.  "  Medetashi ! *  medetashi ! "  We 
raised  our  hearty  Banzai  to  the  morning  sky  at  eight 
o'clock  on  the  26th  of  June. 

in  the  translation,  is  onomatopoetic,  and  gives  force  to  the  words 
that  immediately  follow  it. 
1  "Medetashi!"  Glorious! 


THE   OCCUPATION   OF   KENZAN 

WAITU-SHAX  being  taken  with  ease,  the 
emboldened  thousands  of  our  soldiers  now 
began  to  chase  the  fleeing  enemy  along  the  long, 
narrow  path  leading  from  Ling-shui-ho-tzu  to  the 
368-metre  hill,  that  is,  Kenzan.  The  object  of  this 
march  was  to  attack  the  Russians  occupying  Ken- 
zan, and  our  men  were  more  eager  and  enthusiastic 
than  ever,  and  fully  expected  to  take  this  hill  with 
one  single  stroke. 

Kenzan  is  a  very  steep,  rocky,  rugged  peak,  and 
the  path  on  our  side  was  particularly  steep  and 
rugged,  so  much  so  that  one  man  on  the  path  could 
prevent  thousands  of  men  from  either  climbing  or 
descending.  This  hill  had  had  no  name  originally, 
but  the  Russians  themselves  christened  it  Quin  Hill. 
After  the  place  was  taken,  General  Nogi  gave  it  the 
name  of  Kenzan,  "Sword  Hill,"  after  the  famous 
steep  hill  Tsurugi1-ga-mine'  of  Shikoku,  near  our 
home  barracks,  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  fame  of 
the  regiment  that  took  this  steep  place.  We  did  not 
know  at  first  how  large  a  Russian  force  was  sta- 

1  Tsvrugi,  sword. 
84 


tioned  there.  We  had  only  ascertained  that  there 
were  some  infantry  and  more  than  ten  guns  for  its 
defense. 

Our  regiment,  as  the  reserve  force,  went  round  the 
foot  of  Waitozan  and  stopped  in  the  cultivated 
fields  near  the  seashore.  At  this  time  it  was  burning 
hot  in  Liaotung;  moreover,  there  was  no  stream  of 
water  to  moisten  our  mouths,  no  trees  or  bushes  be- 
yond the  village  to  give  us  shade.  Our  position  was 
even  without  grass,  and  we  were  exposed  to  the  red- 
hot-poker-like  rays  of  the  sun,  which  seemed  to 
pierce  through  our  caps  and  melt  our  heads.  We, 
however,  consoled  ourselves  with  the  idea  that  this 
horrible  fire-torture  would  not  last  long,  and  that 
soon  we  should  have  a  chance  of  real  fighting.  But 
we  remained  in  the  same  position  from  9  A.M.  till 
3  P.M.,  all  the  hottest  hours  of  the  day.  Far  away  to 
the  left  was  visible  the  rippling  water  of  the  eastern 
sea  —  how  we  longed  for  a  cold  bath  before  going 
forward  to  die  on  the  battle-field!  We  could  not  help 
our  mouths  watering  at  the  distant  sight  of  the  sea!  „ 

After  a  while,  a  Russian  gunboat  appeared  near 
Hsiaoping-tao,  an  island  to  our  left,  and  began  to 
fire  at  our  reserve  force.  Many  circles  of  smoke  were 
scattered  high  in  the  air,  the  air  itself  made  a  whirl- 
ing sound,  and  the  shot  fell  on  our  position  with  a 
tremendous  noise.  Shot  after  shot,  sound  after 
sound!  Some  would  hit  rocks,  emit  sparks,  spread 
smoke  around,  and  the  rock  itself  would  fly  in  pieces. 

85 


,,__.  Seen  from  a  safe  distance,  it  is  a  heart-stirring  sight, 
but  we  would  not  have  welcomed  a  real  hit.  Nearly 
all  this  shot  came  very  near  us,  but  fortunately  none 
of  us  was  wounded.  Soon  we  began  to  hear  the 
booming  of  guns  and  cannon  in  the  direction  of 
Kenzan;  and  we  knew  the  attack  had  begun.  We 
were  anxiously  longing  to  march  and  join  the  battle. 

How  eagerly  we  welcomed  the  order,  "Forward, 
march!"  As  soon  as  it  was  heard,  all  the  men 
jumped  up  with  a  spring  and  turned  their  eyes  to  the 
colonel's  face.  The  commander's  brave  bearing  is 
always  looked  up  to  by  his  men  as  their  pattern. 
Especially  in  a  critical  moment,  when  the  issue  of 
the  day  is  to  be  settled,  his  undaunted  attitude 
and  steady  gaze  will  alone  inspire  his  men  with  the 
courage  and  energy  which  lead  them  to  victory. 

Now  we  were  to  march.  Our  heavy  knapsacks 
would  have  hindered  our  activity.  The  men  hur- 
ried to  put  about  a  day's  ration  into  a  long  sack  to 
be  fastened  to  the  back,  and  fixed  their  overcoats  to 
their  shoulders.  I  pulled  out  two  or  three  cigarettes 
from  a  package  and  started  at  once.  Without  any 
special  order  from  anybody,  our  pace  became  faster 
and  faster  —  we  marched  along  a  long  road  toward 
the  place  where  the  roar  of  cannon  and  rifles  was 
rising.  We  came  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  noise  of 
the  battle-line.  When  we  reached  the  actual  spot, 
how  our  hearts  leaped! 

The  steep  hill  occupied  by  the  enemy  rose  in  front 

86 


of  us  almost  perpendicularly.  Our  first  line  was  in- 
cessantly exchanging  fire  with  the  Russians.  As  the 
fighting  became  harder  and  harder,  the  number  of 
the  wounded  increased  in  proportion;  they  were 
carried  to  the  rear  in  quick  succession.  Blood- 
stained men  on  stretchers,  wounded  soldiers  walk- 
ing with  difficulty,  supporting  themselves  on  rifles 
—  the  sight  of  these  unfortunate  ones  made  us 
fresh  men  the  more  eager  to  avenge  them. 

The  struggle  became  still  fiercer.  Our  artillery 
tried  hard  to  silence  the  enemy's  guns;  our  infan- 
try were  clambering  up  the  steep  height  one  after 
the  other  —  they  would  stop  and  shoot,  then  climb 
a  little  and  stop  again.  The  whole  sky  was  covered 
with  gray  clouds  —  white  and  black  smoke  rose  in 
volumes ;  shells  fell  on  the  ground  like  a  hail-storm. 
After  a  short  time,  our  superior  artillery  effectively 
silenced  three  or  four  of  the  enemy's  guns.  Our  in- 
fantry came  quite  close  to  the  enemy,  when  two  mines 
exploded  before  them.  Our  men  were  enveloped  in 
black  smoke  and  clouds  of  dust  —  we  feared  great 
damage  was  done.  Strange  to  tell,  however,  not  one 
of  our  men  had  fallen  when  the  smoke-cloud  cleared 
away.  The  enemy  had  wasted  a  large  quantity  of  pre- 
cious powder  with  the  mere  result  of  raising  a  dust! 

The  Russians  tried  to  hinder  our  pressing  on,  not 
only  by  these  exploding  mines,  but  also  by  repeated 
volleys  from  the  mountain-top.  This  latter  scheme 
was  carried  out  so  incessantly  that  we  could  hardly 

87 


turn  our  faces  toward  the  enemy  or  raise  our  heads 
comfortably.  On  and  on,  however,  we  marched  with- 
out fear  or  hesitancy.  A  small  company  of  men 
at  the  head  of  the  line  would  clamber  up  the  rocks 
and  precipices,  ready  for  annihilation;  encouraged 
by  their  example,  larger  forces  would -break  in  upon 
the  enemy  like  a  flood.  Stepping  on  mine-openings 
and  braving  rifle  and  cannon  fire  coming  from  front 
and  side,  the  extreme  danger  and  difficulty  of  their 
attack  was  beyond  description.  The  enemy  resisted 
desperately;  this  Heaven-protected  steep  Kenzan 
was  too  important  for  them  to  give  up. 

Suddenly  a  tremendous  shout  arose  throughout 
our  whole  line;  all  the  officers,  with  drawn  swords 
and  bloodshot  eyes,  rushed  into  the  enemy's  forts, 
shouting  and  yelling  and  encouraging  their  men 
to  follow.  A  hell-like  struggle  ensued,  in  which 
bayonet  clashed  against  bayonet,  fierce  shooting  was 
answered  by  fierce  shooting,  shouts  and  yells  were 
mingled  with  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and 
dying.  The  battle  soon  became  ours,  for,  in  spite 
of  their  desperate  resistance,  the  enemy  took  to 
their  heels,  leaving  behind  them  many  mementos 
of  their  defeat.  Banzai  was  shouted  two  or  three 
times;  joy  and  congratulation  resounded  on  the 
heights  of  Kenzan,  which  was  now  virtually  ours. 
The  Flag  of  the  Rising  Sun  was  hoisted  high  at  the 
top  of  the  hill.  This  stronghold  once  in  our  hands, 
shall  we  ever  give  it  back  to  the  enemy? 


COUNTER-ATTACKS  ON  KENZAN 

KENZAN  once  in  our  hands,  Shuangting-shan 
and  its  vicinity  soon  became  ours.  Through 
the  smoke  our  colors  were  seen  flying  over  the  forces 
now  occupying  these  places,  whose  thunder-like 
triumphal  shouts  echoed  above  the  winds.  This 
Shuangting-shan  was  as  important  as  Kenzan  — 
neither  position  must  remain  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  But  Shuangting-shan  was  not  strongly 
fortified  and  the  Russians  could  not  hold  it  long 
against  us.  It  was  an  easy  prey  for  us.  "When 
one  wild  goose  is  frightened,  the  whole  line  of 
wild  geese  goes  into  disorder;  when  one  company 
wavers,  the  whole  army  is  defeated,"  so  says  the  old 
expression.  When  the  Russians  lost  Kenzan,  which 
they  had  relied  upon  so  much,  Shuangting-shan  fell 
like  a  dead  leaf,  and  Hsiaoping-tao  also  became 
ours.  This  island  is  to  the  left  of  the  foot  of  Shuang- 
ting-shan and,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  Russian 
ships  had  appeared  in  that  neighborhood  and  at- 
tacked us  on  the  flank;  this  attempt  at  piercing  our 
side  with  a  sharp  spear  was  very  effective.  These 
ships  were  driven  back  into  Port  Arthur  more  than 

89 


once  by  our  fleet ;  but  as  soon  as  they  found  a  chance, 
they  would  come  back  and  bombard  our  flank.  Dur- 
ing the  battle  of  the  26th,  three  or  four  gunboats  of 
the  enemy  were  in  that  vicinity;  they  greatly  hin- 
dered our  attacks  on  Kenzan  and  Shuangting-shan. 
So  the  left  wing  of  our  left  column  was  ordered 
to  take  the  island,  and  it  soon  fell  into  our  hands. 
Thus  the  whole  of  the  first  line  of  the  enemy's 
defense  about  Port  Arthur  came  entirely  under  our 


Every  detachment  of  our  army  was  successful  in 
its  attack  of  the  26th,  and  this  gave  us  an  enormous 
advantage  for  the  future  development  of  our  plan 
of  campaign.  We  were  now  in  a  position  to  look 
down  upon  the  enemy's  movements,  from  those 
same  heights  whence  they  once  had  espied  our 
doings.  It  is,  therefore,  no  wonder  that  the  Russians 
tried  to  recover  this  vantage  ground.  It  is  said  that 
General  Stoessel  ordered  his  whole  army  to  recover, 
at  whatever  cost,  this  Kenzan,  which,  he  said,  was 
indispensable  for  the  defense  of  Port  Arthur.  This 
was  quite  natural  for  them.  But  we  Japanese  had 
determined  not  to  give  up  the  place  to  the  enemy, 
whatever  counter-attack,  whatever  stratagem,  might 
be  brought  to  bear.  If  they  were  ready  for  a  great 
sacrifice,  we  were  equally  willing  to  accept  the  sac- 
rifice. Brave  Russians,  come  and  attack  us  twice  or 
thrice,  if  you  are  anxious  to  have  regrets  afterward! 
What  they  did  was  "to  keep  the  tiger  off  the  front 

90 


gate  and  not  to  know  that  the  wolf  was  already  at 
the  back  door." 

The  long,  summer-day's  sun  was  going  down,  a 
dismal  gray  light  enveloped  heaven  and  earth;  after 
the  battle  warm,  unpleasant  winds  were  sweeping 
over  bloodstained  grass,  and  the  din  of  war  of  a 
short  time  before  was  followed  by  an  awful  silence, 
except  for  the  scattered  reports  of  rifles,  with  thin, 
dull,  spiritless  sound.  This  was  the  repulsed  enemy's 
random  shooting  to  give  vent  to  their  anger  and 
regret  —  it  was  quite  an  amusement  for  us.  All  of 
a  sudden,  dark  clouds  were  vomited  by  mountain 
peaks,  the  whole  sky  became  black  in  a  moment, 
lightning  and  thunder  were  followed  by  bullet-like 
drops  of  rain;  nature  seemed  to  repeat  the  same 
desperate,  bloody  scene  that  we  had  presented  a 
short  while  before.  This  battle  of  the  elements 
was  an  additional  hardship  for  our  men,  —  they 
had  not  even  trees  for  shelter,  —  all  looked  like  rats 
drenched  in  water!  We  spent  the  night  on  this 
mountain  in  the  rain,  listening  to  the  neighing  of 
our  horses  at  its  foot. 

A  severe  battle  is  usually  followed  by  a  heavy 
storm  or  shower.  When  the  battle  is  at  its  height, 
the  sky  is  darkened  with  powder-smoke  and  the 
whole  scene  is  dismal  and  dreary.  Presently  a  heavy 
shower  and  deafening  thunders  come  to  wash  away 
all  impurities  of  the  battle-field.  This  rain  is  called 
"the  tears  of  joy  for  the  victor,  and  the  tears  of  sor- 


row  for  the  defeated;"  it  is  also  the  tears  of  mourn- 
ing for  the  dead  comrades.  Such  a  stormy  night  was 
almost  sure  to  be  utilized  by  the  enemy  to  recover 
the  lost  position.  But  we  were  not  off  our  guard 
after  our  victory,  as  the  enemy  may  have  imagined 
—  the  roar  of  thunder  or  the  fall  of  rain  did  not 
make  us  less  vigilant.  Each  time  they  visited  us, 
we  were  sure  to  dismiss  them  at  the  gate,  thanking 
them  for  their  fruitless  visit.  Once  we  occupy  a 
place,  a  line  of  strict  vigilance  is  spread  all  around, 
ready  to  meet  the  enemy's  counter-surprise  at  any 
moment.  This  is  what  we  call  "tightening  the 
string  of  the  helmet  in  victory." 1 

Seven  days  had  elapsed  after  our  taking  Kenzan 
and  Shuangting-shan,  when  the  enemy  began  a 
counter-attack,  at  mid-day  of  the  3d  of  July.  They 
seemed  to  be  trying  to  recover  Kenzan  with  an  over- 
whelming force.  About  eight  or  nine  hundred  of 
their  infantry  pressed  straight  on  from  Wangchia- 
tun;  their  artillery  took  up  their  position  in  and 
about  Tashik-tung  and  began  to  fire  at  us  with 
great  energy.  We  had  been  expecting  this  all  the 
time  and  were  not  surprised.  All  our  guns  and  rifles 
were  concentrated  on  their  front;  they  were  brave 
enough  to  rush  on  in  spite  of  this  shower  of  shot. 
But  our  fire  was  too  much  for  them;  they  "fell 
like  a  row  of  ninepins."  The  officer  at  their  head 

1  A  saying  of  lyeyasu,  the  great  soldier  and  lawgiver,  —  "In 
the  moment  of  victory,  tighten  your  helmet -strings." 
92 


flourished  his  long  sword  high  in  the  air  and  furi- 
ously rushed  toward  us;  but  he  too  fell.  At  each 
volley  they  fell  like  autumn  leaves  in  the  wind.  The  mrm 
remnant  of  the  enemy  thought  it  impossible  to  face  "•• 
us;  they  ran  back  into  the  valleys  in  complete  dis- 
order. Their  infantry  had  thus  retreated,  but  the 
battery  was  not  silenced  so  easily.  For  some  time 
longer  it  held  on  and  fired  at  our  centre  vigorously. 
Perhaps  the  sight  of  the  retreating  infantry  made 
the  artillerymen  lose  courage;  the  noise  of  their 
firing  became  less  and  less;  soon  the  whole  line 
of  battle  became  as  quiet  as  a  dream.  We  shouted 
Banzai  again  and  again.  The  enemy's  first  effort 
to  regain  Kenzan  had  failed! 

The  Russians  were  so  persistent  in  their  attempt 
at  recovering  the  lost  position,  that,  soon  after  this 
severe  defeat,  about  the  same  number  of  infantry 
as  before  made  their  appearance  on  Taiko-shan. 
Their  band  playing  vigorously,  they  approached  our 
first  line.  When  the  distance  between  the  two  parties 
became  only  seven  or  eight  hundred  metres,  they 
deployed,  shouted  "Woola!"  very  loud,  and  rushed 
on  us  bravely,  encouraged  by  the  sound  of  fife  and 
drum.  We  met  them  with  a  violent,  rapid  fire,  killing 
both  those  who  advanced  and  those  who  retreated. 
One  of  our  detachments  also  took  the  offensive. 
This  again  was  too  much  for  the  enemy;  they  took 
to  their  heels  and  went  back  toward  Taiko-shan.  In 
spite  of  the  clear  fact  that  it  was  impossible  for  them 

93 


to  defeat  us,  they  repeated  one  attack  after  another, 
making  a  fresh  sacrifice  of  men  each  time,  fully  de- 
termined to  recover  Kenzan.  This  tenacity  of  pur- 
pose was  truly  worthy  of  a  great  Power  and  deserves 
our  admiration.  Just  as  we  have  our  loyal  and 
brave  "Yamato-damashii,"  they  have  their  own  un- 
daunted courage  peculiar  to  the  Slav  race.  "The 
tiger's  roar  causes  storms  to  rise  and  the  dragon's 
breath  gathers  clouds  in  the  sky."  Each  of  the  con- 
tending parties  had  a  worthy  foe  with  which  to  com- 
pare its  strength. 

At  one  o  'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  following  day 
(the  4th),  the  enemy  broke  through  the  darkness  of 
midnight  and  surprised  us  on  Kenzan  with  a  forlorn- 
hope  detachment.  This  movement  was  so  quick 
and  so  clever!  not  a  blade  of  grass,  not  a  stone  was 
disturbed  —  they  clambered  up  the  steep  ascent 
without  a  noise,  and  quite  suddenly  they  killed 
our  sentries  and  rushed  into  our  camp  in  a  dense 
crowd,  with  loud  shouts,  flourishing  their  swords 
and  brandishing  their  rifles.  A  scene  of  great  con- 
fusion and  desperate  struggle  ensued;  it  was  pitch 
dark  and  we  could  not  tell  friend  from  foe  —  the 
only  thing  we  could  do  was  to  cut  and  thrust  as 
much  as  possible  without  knowing  at  whom.  We 
could  not  see  anything,  but  each  could  hear  and  feel 
the  heavy  fall  to  the  ground  of  his  own  antagonist. 
Once  again  our  defense  was  too  strong  even  for 
this  assaulting  party,  who  went  down  the  hill  in 

94 


disappointment,  though  without  confusion.  We  were 
all  astonished  at  their  valor  and  perseverance.  Even 
those  who  were  left  behind  wounded  would  try  and  ••»— 
resist  us  with  rifle  or  sword.  One  of  them,  in  partic-    ••••_ 
ular,  who  was  seriously  wounded  and  on  the  brink 
of  death,  raised  his  drooping  head  and  smiled  a 
ghastly  smile  of  defiance  and  determination. 

Such  a  clever,  well- planned  surprise  having  failed, 
we  thought  that  probably  they  had  given  up  any 
idea  of  further  attack  on  us.  Contrary  to  our  expec- 
tation, however,  they  still  clung  to  the  object  of 
recovering  Kenzan  by  some  means.  At  the  dawn 
of  the  same  morning,  they  tried  an  open  attack  with 
a  large  force.  This  assault  was  particularly  fierce. 
This  time  they  showed  even  more  determination 
than  before;  their  artillery  kept  up  a  continuous  fire, 
while  the  infantry  made  their  advance  under  its  cover. 
The  number  of  men  on  their  first  line  was  constantly 
increased,  and  they  seemed  determined  to  wrest 
Kenzan  from  us  at  any  cost.  In  spite  of  our  advanta- 
geous position,  in  spite  of  our  experience  in  repeated 
repulse  of  the  enemy,  the  assault  of  this  large  body 
of  Russians  was  far  from  easy  for  us  to  break.  But 
we  too  had  increased  our  numbers  and  had  improved 
our  defenses  as  much  as  possible,  in  expectation  of 
just  such  an  attack.  Consequently  this  was  almost 
as  severe  a  fight  as  our  attack  on  Kenzan. 

The  artillery  of  the  enemy  increased  in  strength 
hour  after  hour  and  occupied  the  heights  connecting 

95 


Wangchia-tun,  Mautao-kou,  Antsu-ling,  and  so  on; 
their  main  strength  was  directed  to  Kenzan,  and 
also  to  our  infantry  position  in  general.  Their  way 
of  pouring  shrapnel  on  us  was  most  energetic,  and 
they  proved  themselves  better  marksmen  than  ever. 
Without  the  intermission  of  even  a  minute  or  a  sec- 
ond, their  shot  and  shells  rained  on  us  in  a  heavy 
shower.  From  early  morning  both  our  artillery  and 
infantry  kept  up  a  rapid  fire  and  tried  hard  to  pre- 
vent the  enemy  from  coming  nearer,  fully  deter- 
mined not  to  allow  them  to  enter,  even  one  step, 
into  the  place  we  had  once  taken  with  our  blood.  In 
particular,  those  who  were  stationed  at  Kenzan  had 
the  hardest  of  times;  they  stood  firm  under  the 
enemy's  fierce  fire  and  checked  with  great  difficulty 
an  attempt  to  rush  their  position.  Sometimes  they 
were  hard  pressed  and  in  danger  of  giving  way;  at 
such  times  the  officers  in  front  would  stir  them  up 
and  cry,  "Shoot!  Shoot!"  staring  at  the  enemy  with 
angry  eyes  and  spitting  foam  from  their  mouths! 
The  men  kept  their  eyes  fixed  steadily  on  the  enemy, 
their  hands  at  work  incessantly  with  magazine  and 
trigger.  They  strained  all  their  energy  and  power 
and  did  not  economize  powder,  of  which  they  are  so 
careful  at  other  times. 

The  firing  from  both  sides  became  more  and  more 
violent  and  quick,  so  that  birds  could  not  have  found 
space  to  fly,  or  animals  places  for  hiding.  Thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  shot  and  shell  crossed  in  the 

96 


air  and  made  a  dull  sound  in  the  heavy-laden  atmos- 
phere ;  the  whole  heaven  and  earth  seemed  the 
scene  of  the  frantic  rage  of  demons,  and  we  could  not 
prophesy  when  this  scene  would  come  to  an  end. 
The  enemy's  artillery  fire  was  very  strong;  their 
time  shells  would  fly  to  us  in  bundles,  explode  over 
our  heads,  and  kill  and  wound  our  men  mercilessly. 
The  explosion  of  their  spherical  shells  would  hurl  up 
earth  and  sand  before  and  behind  our  skirmish  line, 
raising  a  thick  black  and  white  smoke  at  the  spot. 
The  struggle  of  our  artillery  to  resist  such  a  violent, 
incessant  attack  was  beyond  description.  They 
were  sometimes  obliged  to  change  their  position  for 
a  while.  The  issue  of  the  day  was  still  hanging 
in  the  balance;  the  enemy's  forces  were  reinforced 
from  time  to  time  by  fresh  men — they  renewed  the 
attack  again  and  again.  On  our  side,  too,  a  part  of 
our  general  reserve  was  placed  on  the  line  of  battle; 
moreover,  several  companies  of  heavy  artillery 
were  sent  out  from  Pantao  to  Hwangni-chuan, 
Tashang-tun,  and  their  vicinity.  Also,  the  marine 
heavy  artillery  corps  was  stationed  at  Shakako  in 
the  south.  With  this  increase  of  strength  on  both 
sides,  each  party  threatened  to  annihilate  the  other. 
The  fight  of  the  day  became  more  and  more  des- 
perate ;  the  boom  of  cannon  and  rifle  lasted  from 
dawn  till  dusk  —  still  it  did  not  lessen  in  its  volume. 
The  enemy  seemed  anxious  to  take  advantage  of 
the  good  effect  of  their  fire  to  make  an  assault  on  us 

97 


under  its  cover.  The  sharper  their  attack,  the  more 
watchful  we  became,  and  each  time  we  dealt  a  cor- 
respondingly severe  counter-attack. 

The  melancholy  rays  of  the  setting  sun  shone 
upon  the  dismal  scene  of  the  battle-field,  with  a  back- 
ground of  dark  gray  which  added  to  the  sadness  of 
the  sight.  This  sadness,  of  course,  was  associated 
with  our  anxiety  about  the  issue  of  the  struggle. 
Was  the  battle  of  this  day  to  cease  without  any  re- 
sult ?  Nay,  the  enemy  would  not  give  up  the  attack 
with  the  arrival  of  night;  on  the  contrary,  because 
they  had  a  plan  for  a  great  night  assault  on  us,  they 
continued  their  firing  from  morning  till  evening,  in 
order  to  exhaust  us  both  in  body  and  resources. 
We  were  sure  that  this  was  their  plan,  and  so  at 
night  we  waited  for  their  coming  with  more  vigi- 
lance and  watchfulness.  As  was  expected,  the 
enemy's  whole  line  began  to  move  late  at  night  and 
attempted  to  storm  Kenzan  and  recover  the  place 
with  one  tremendous  stroke.  They  came  upon  us  in 
rage  and  fury:  their  bayonets  glittered  in  the  dark 
like  the  reflection  of  the  sun  on  ice  and  frost;  their 
"Woola"  sounded  like  the  roar  of  hundreds  of  wild 
beasts.  "Now  is  the  time  for  us  to  show  them  what 
we're  made  of!"  With  this  idea  in  all  our  minds, 
we  began  with  one  accord  to  shower  on  them  an 
accurate  fire;  nearly  all  the  shot  told.  We  were 
almost  certain  that  the  enemy  would  be  defeated 
before  so  sure  a  fire.  Their  cry  of  "Woola"  became 

98 


less  and  less  loud;  the  flowers  of  their  swords  also 
faded  away  in  the  dark.  At  last  the  whole  place  be- 
came perfectly  quiet,  so  that  we  could  hear  the  mel-  •4— 
ancholy  note  of  summer  insects  singing  in  the  grass,  •••_ 
and  the  groaning  of  the  wounded  Russians  left  on 
the  field.  Up  in  the  sky,  thick  clouds  hung  heavy 
and  low,  threatening  to  begin  to  rain  at  any  moment. 
Our  eyes  rained  first  a  drop  or  two  in  spite  of  our- 
selves — for  our  comrades  who  had  died  in  this  battle. 
Later,  when  all  the  information  was  gathered,  we 
found  that  the  number  of  the  Russians  that  began 
the  attack  early  in  the  morning  was  about  one  thou- 
sand; it  was  gradually  reinforced  and  became  five 
thousand,  and  at  last  it  was  more  than  ten  thou- 
sand. Added  to  this,  some  gun-boats  of  the  enemy 
appeared  off  the  coast  of  Lungwang-tang  and  fired 
vehemently  on  our  centre  and  left  wing.  Even  this 
large,  combined  force  of  the  army  and  navy  could 
not  accomplish  their  cherished  object  —  all  their 
stratagems  and  tricks  were  of  no  avail  against  us. 
After  this  fourth  and  hardest  assault,  they  seemed 
to  lose  courage  and  hope;  no  further  attack  was 
made  on  Kenzan;  the  only  thing  they  continued 
to  do  was  to  reconnoitre  .our  camp,  and  to  direct 
slow  firing  on  us  both  day  and  night,  accompanied 
by  an  occasional  night  assault  on  a  small  scale,  which 
seemed  intended  to  cover  and  protect  the  defensive 
works  which  they  were  putting  up  in  great  hurry 
along  the  heights  of  Taipo-shan. 


ON  THE  DEFENSIVE 

WHAT  an  irksome,  tantalizing  business  is 
defense!  We  may  be  quite  ready  to  march 
and  fight,  both  in  morale  and  in  material  prepara- 
tions, and  yet  we  must  wait  until  the  right  oppor- 
tunity arrives.  The  sword  hanging  from  the  belt 
may  moan  from  idleness,  the  muscles  of  the  arm 
sigh  from  inactivity,  and  yet  we  have  to  wait  till  the 
proper  time  comes.  But  defense  is  the  first  step  to- 
ward offense.  We  must  first  try  every  possible  means, 
on  this  line  of  vigilant  defense,  to  ascertain  minutely 
and  accurately  the  condition  of  the  enemy,  and  to 
find  out  the  arrangement  of  their  men,  before  we  lay 
our  plans  and  begin  a  march  and  attack.  So,  there- 
fore, our  defense  is  like  the  dragon  concealing  itself 
in  a  pond  for  a  while,  and  our  march  its  gather- 
ing clouds  and  fogs  around  itself  and  ascending  to 
heaven.  So,  then,  I  propose  here  to  tell  you  a  little 
about  the  actual  condition  of  our  line  of  defense  after 
the  battle  of  Kenzan. 

A  strong  army  of  fourteen  battalions  and  twenty- 
four  guns  had  tried  a  hard  and  desperate  assault  on 

100 


our  position,  to  recover  Kenzan  "at  whatever  cost," 
to  use  General  Stoessel's  expression.  But  their 
scheme  of  reprisals  was  of  no  use.  They  retreated 
far  back  toward  Shwangtai-kou  and  Antsu-ling  on 
the  north,  and  Taipo-shan  and  Laotso-shan  on  the 
south,  and  there  along  the  heights  they  put  up  strong 
works  of  defense,  planning  to  make  a  firmer  stand 
there  than  at  Kenzan.  And  we  remained  in  exactly 
the  same  position  as  before,  not  even  an  inch  of 
ground  was  given  back  to  the  enemy;  our  line 
stretched  from  Antsu-ling  in  the  north,  with  Lwanni- 
chiao,  Kenzan,  Hwangni-chuan,  and  Tashang-tun 
in  the  middle,  to  Shuangting-shan  in  the  south.  Our 
regiment  was  to  watch  over  the  heights  to  the  north- 
east of  Hwangni-chuan  and  Tashang-tun,  and  on 
the  very  first  day  we  began  to  dig  with  picks  and 
shovels.  As  compared  with  our  experience  in  Chang- 
chia-tun,  we  were  much  nearer  the  enemy,  and, 
moreover,  we  had  to  make  our  works  much  stronger, 
knowing  that  the  enemy  would  be  sure  to  try  an 
occasional  assault  on  us,  notwithstanding  their  re- 
peated defeats  in  the  attempt  to  recover  Kenzan. 
We  had  no  time  to  give  our  men  rest  after  their  hard, 
continuous  fighting.  We  could  not  leave  our  gate- 
way wide  open  for  thieves  and  burglars,  however 
anxious  we  were  to  rest  our  men.  The  urgent  neces- 
sity of  the  case  did  not  allow  sympathetic  consid- 
eration for  their  exhaustion.  The  brave  soldiers 
themselves  did  not  think  of  any  repose;  day  and 

1 01 


night  they  carried  the  sand-bags,  and  wire-entangle- 
ment left  at  Changchia-tun,  along  the  rocky  steep 
path,  or  with  no  path  at  all,  catching  hold  of  grass- 
roots or  points  of  rock.  They  devoted  every  available 
minute  to  putting  up  strong  works  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

Our  position  was  on  a  steep,  rocky,  skeleton-like 
mountain,  over  valleys  with  sides  almost  perpen- 
dicular. There  were  no  trees  to  shield  us  from  the 
sun,  no  streams  of  water  to  moisten  our  parched  lips. 
Our  only  comfort  was  that  we  could  see  through  the 
mist  the  forts  on  far-away  Lautieh-shan  and  ram- 
parts on  nearer  hills  and  peaks,  and  imagine  that 
soon  the  curtain  would  be  raised  and  a  great  living 
drama  again  be  presented  on  the  stage.  We  pictured 
to  ourselves  the  joy  of  another  valiant  struggle  and 
wished  that  we  might  be  allowed  to  sacrifice  our- 
selves so  completely  that  not  a  piece  of  our  flesh  be 
left  behind.  Days  passed  in  hard  work  and  vain 
imaginings.  When  the  curtain  of  night  covered  the 
scene,  a  body  of  black  forms  would  climb  the  hill. 
What  were  they  ?  They  were  fresh  men  to  take  the 
places  of  those  exhausted  by  the  day's  hard  work. 
Had  they  to  work  even  at  night  ?  Yes,  on  the  line 
of  defense  this  night  work  was  the  more  important. 
In  the  daytime  the  enemy's  artillery  would  fire 
and  try  to  find  out  where  we  were  working,  and 
therefore  steady  progress  was  impossible.  To  make 
up  the  time  lost  we  had  to  work  at  night.  Looking 

IO2 


at  the  distant  smoke  rising  from  the  camp-fires  of 
the  enemy,  our  men  dug  earth,  piled  up  stones, 
carried  sand,  rilled  sacks,  and  planted  stakes  for    —*— 
wire-entanglements.  In  doing  this  we  had  to  try  to   ••? 
make  as  little  noise  as  possible,  and  of  course  could  " 
not  smoke.   Even  the  lighting  of  a  cigarette  might 
give  occasion  for  the  enemy  to  fire  at  us.  At  two 
or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  were  still  work- 
ing hard,  in  spite  of  heavy  rain  or  furious  storm. 
The  men  did  all  this  without  complaining,  ungrudg- 
ingly; they  only  thought  of  doing  their  very  best 
for  their  country,  and  for  their  sovereign.   They 
truly  deserve  the  heartfelt  thanks  and  praises  of 
the  nation. 

In  the  small  hours  of  the  morning  the  body  of 
pioneers  would  rest  their  arms  awhile.  Even  then 
there  were  some  who  stood  straight  like  statues  with 
their  guns  on  their  shoulders,  straining  their  eyes 
toward  the  enemy.  The  duty  of  the  sentinels  was 
also  far  from  easy.  Exposed  to  the  night  wind  of  the 
peninsula  they  would  smile  and  say :  "It 's  very  cool 
to-night!  Shall  we  have  another  night  assault  as 
usual?" 

We  did  not  know  certainly  where  the  enemy's 
artillery  was  stationed,  but  they  would  fire  into  the 
valley  where  the  staff  officers  had  pitched  their  tents, 
as  if  in  search  of  us.  It  was  on  the  i5th  of  July, 
if  I  remember  correctly,  that  a  big  ball  came  flying, 
exploded  with  a  tremendous  noise,  shattered  rocks, 

103 


threw  up  stones,  raised  dark  yellow  smoke,  and 
shook  the  earth.  We  had  been  accustomed  only  to 
field-gun  balls :  this  was  our  first  experience  of  such 
a  huge  one.  We  were  greatly  astonished.  Probably 
the  enemy  had  hauled  a  navy  gun  up  to  Lungwang- 
tang  and  fired  at  us  with  that.  They  still  seemed 
anxious  to  find  a  chance  of  recovering  Kenzan,  and 
sent  us  long-distance  balls  diligently.  All  our  bat- 
talions, therefore,  agreed  to  take  careful  statistics, 
and  report  how  many  balls  were  sent  and  to  what 
part  of  our  line,  between  what  and  what  hours.  The 
enemy  tried  in  vain  to  frighten  us  by  shattering  the 
rocks  of  Kenzan  with  long-distance  shot.  Seen  from 
a  distance,  the  explosion  of  shrapnel  looks  like  fire- 
works, but  to  be  under  such  a  shower  of  fire  is  not 
particularly  pleasant. 

There  was  one  thing  that  puzzled  us  very  much. 
Every  day,  almost  at  the  same  hour,  they  would  fire 
at  us  with  special  zeal;  their  aim  was  always  directed 
to  our  headquarters  and  sometimes  they  would  in- 
flict upon  us  unexpected  damage.  We  thought,  of 
course,  there  must  be  some  secret  in  this  mysterious 
act  of  the  enemy's,  but  it  was  not  at  all  easy  to  find 
out  that  secret.  After  a  long  and  careful  investiga- 
tion, the  following  wonderful  and  detestable  fact 
came  to  light. 

The  Chinese  natives  were  in  the  habit  of  driving 
cows  or  sheep  up  to  the  hills  at  the  back  of  our  line 
of  vigilance  and  giving  signals  to  the  Russians  from 

104 


this  great  distance.  Their  code  was  to  indicate  the 
direction  or  village  to  be  fired  at  by  a  black  cow,  a 
flock  of  sheep,  etc.  Our  experience  at  Changchia-  "I  » 
tun  had  fully  warned  us  of  the  dangerous  quality  of  — ^"' 
the  Chinese,  who  would  give  up  even  their  lives  for  " 
money.  But  this  time  they  did  not  even  attempt  to 
pass  through  our  line,  but  simply  drove  their  ani- 
mals slowly  up  the  mountain  path.  How  could  we 
dream  that  such  an  innocent-looking  act  was  be- 
traying us  to  the  enemy!  They  are  ignorant  and 
greedy  survivors  of  a  fallen  dynasty ;  they  know  only 
the  value  of  gold  and  silver  and  do  not  think  of 
national  or  international  interests.  It  has  never 
occurred  to  them  to  try  to  think  why  it  was  that 
Japan  and  Russia  were  fighting  on  their  own  farms; 
they  were  only  anxious  to  make  good  the  damage 
done  to  their  farms  and  crops.  Of  course  we  had  to 
punish  these  offenders  very  severely,  though  they 
deserved  our  pity,  rather  than  our  hatred.  Money  is 
the  only  god  they  worship. 

It  was  somewhere  about  the  2oth  of  this  same 
month  that  some  of  our  scouting  officers  went  deep 
through  the  picket  line  of  the  enemy  and  gave  a 
great  surprise  to  some  of  their  non-commissioned 
officers.  The  Japanese  accomplished  their  object 
with  success,  and  on  their  way  back  they  came 
across  three  or  four  of  the  enemy's  scouts.  They 
chased  the  Russians  about  and  tried  to  capture  them, 
but  the  Russians  fired  at  the  Japanese  officers  in  a 


desperate  effort  to  make  good  their  escape.  Only 
one  of  them  was  left  behind  and  captured,  and  our 
officers  came  back  in  triumph  with  their  captive. 
As  usual,  we  cross-examined  the  Russian,  who  was  an 
infantry  corporal.  He  bowed  frequently  and  begged 
that  his  life  might  be  spared,  promising  to  tell  us 
everything  he  knew.  What  a  wretch!  We  wished 
we  could  give  him  one  small  dose  of  Japanese  patri- 
otism, which  considers  "duty  heavier  than  a  moun- 
tain and  death  lighter  than  a  feather."  1  We  hear 
that  a  Japanese  soldier,  who  had  the  misfortune  of 
being  captured  by  the  Russians  at  Port  Arthur,  re- 
buked and  reviled,  with  his  face  flushed  with  anger, 
the  Russian  general  before  whom  he  was  driven. 
On  the  contrary,  this  Russian  told  us  every  military 
secret  he  knew,  in  order  to  keep  his  body  and  soul 
together.  When  he  was  led  on  to  the  line  of  obser- 
vation and  told  to  tell  us  the  arrangement  of  the  Rus- 
sian soldiers,  he  pointed  out  and  explained  it  with  no 
scruple  whatever,  saying  to  the  right  there  was  the 
Twenty-sixth  Regiment  of  Infantry  sharpshooters, 
the  Twenty-eighth  Regiment  of  the  same  in  the 
middle,  and  what  regiment  on  the  left  hand,  and 
so  on.  The  correspondence  between  his  answers 
and  the  reports  from  scouts  testified  to  the  correct- 
ness of  each.  He  told  us  all  the  truth  he  knew  and 
we  were  greatly  helped  by  him.  But  all  the  same 

1  From  the  Imperial  Rescript  to  the  Army  and  Navy.    See 
Appendix  B. 

106 


we  despise  him  as  a  coward  unworthy  of  a  true 
soldier's  society. 

Let  me  take  this  opportunity  of  telling  you  about    -+— 
our  examination  of  a  Russian  soldier  captured  the  — T 
night  after  our  attack  on  Kenzan,  under  a  huge  rock,  " 
where  he  was  hiding  himself.    Our  dialogue  was 
something  like  this :  — 

"What  did  you  expect  from  our  attack?" 

"We  were  afraid,  and  thought  that  the  Japanese 
attack  would  be  very  fierce." 

"  Do  your  commanders  take  good  care  of  you  ?" 

"When  we  first  arrived  in  Port  Arthur  they  were 
kind  and  considerate  to  us,  but  recently  they  have 
not  been  so.  For  the  last  three  months  or  so  we  have 
received  only  one  third  of  our  pay.  Our  rations  also 
have  been  reduced  one  half;  all  the  rest  goes  into 
their  private  pockets." 

"Have  those  who  were  defeated  at  Nanshan  gone 
back  to  Port  Arthur?" 

"They  were  not  allowed  to  enter  the  great  fortress; 
they  were  ordered  to  work  on  the  entrenchments 
and  live  off  the  country,  on  the  ground  that  there 
was  no  spare  food  to  give  them." 

"Do  you  know  that  many  of  your  countrymen 
have  been  sent  to  Japan  as  captives?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know.  Just  the  other  day  a  friend  of  mine 
went  to  Japan  as  a  captive." 

How  could  the  officers  and  commanders  secure 
respect  and  obedience  and  faithful  service  from  sub- 

107 


ordinates  whom  they  did  not  love  and  take  care  of? 
Other  kinds  of  service  may  be  secured  in  other  ways, 
but  the  faithful  discharge  of  military  duties,  in  the 
moment  of  life  and  death  on  the  battle-field,  can  only 
come  through  the  officers'  loving  their  men  as  their 
own  children,  and  the  men's  respecting  their  officers 
as  their  own  parents.  When  one  party  is  pocket- 
ing the  salary  and  reducing  the  rations  of  the  other, 
mercilessly  involving  them  in  unnecessary  priva- 
tion and  hardship,  how  can  they  be  respected, 
and  how  can  men  be  expected  to  die  for  such  un- 
kind officers?  The  fact  that  the  Russian  soldiers 
pillaged  the  innocent  natives  everywhere,  looting 
their  valuables,  stealing  their  food,  and  insulting 
their  wives  and  daughters,  finds  a  partial  expla- 
nation in  the  above  statement  of  the  Russian  cap- 
tive. 

Day  after  day  our  works  on  the  line  of  defense 
increased  in  strength.  All  the  while  the  Russians 
continued  their  tiresome  shell  assaults  under  cover  of 
night,  and  each  time  they  were  repulsed  by  our  men. 
Cannon-balls  rent  the  air  without  intermission;  but 
they  were  so  badly  aimed  that  we  were  anxious  lest 
they  might  exhaust  their  ammunition  in  fruitless 
efforts.  But  aimless  bullets  occasionally  killed  or 
wounded  our  men.  It  is  no  cause  of  regret  to  die  in  a 
glorious  battle,  but  to  be  wounded  and  killed  while 
engaged  in  duties  of  defense,  and  lose  the  desired 
opportunity  of  joining  the  great  fight  soon  to  take 

108 


place,  was  something  that  we  did  not  relish.    "I 
shall  never  go  to  the  rear."  "I  will  not  be  sent  to 
the   bandage-place!"   These  words  from  the  lips    "T" 
of  wounded  soldiers  well  expressed  their  disap-    ^^ 
pointment  and  regret.  We  can  fully  sympathize  with   ' 
their  feelings. 


LIFE  IN   CAMP 

WE  had  relied  upon  our  tents  as  a  sufficient 
protection  at  least  from  rain  and  dew,  but 
they  were  now  in  a  miserable  condition,  torn  by 
wind  and  spoiled  by  rain.  For  the  sixty  days  since 
our  landing  we  had  lived  in  tents.  All  the  circum- 
stances had  been  against  our  securing  other  quarters. 
Chinese  villages  have  seldom  many  houses,  only  three 
or  four  together,  here  and  there ;  they  are  not  at  all 
adapted  for  accommodating  a  large  army.  If  some- 
times we  happened  to  spend  a  night  under  the  eaves 
of  a  house,  sheltered  from  inclement  weather,  but 
smelling  all  the  time  the  unsavory  odor  of  pigs  and 
garlic,  it  seemed  as  great  a  luxury  as  sleeping  under 
silk  comfortables  in  an  elegant  room  at  home.  Tents 
were  our  ordinary  dwelling;  one  sheet  of  canvas  was 
everything  to  us,  shutting  off  wind  and  rain,  and 
making  our  condition  far  better  than  if  we  had  been 
obliged  to  lie  in  the  damp  open  fields  with  the  earth 
as  our  bed.  But  this  all-important  canvas  could  no 
longer  do  anything  except  serve  the  purpose  of  cov- 
ering us  from  the  sun's  rays.  It  allowed  the  merci- 
no 


less  rain  to  tease  us,  and  the  angry  winds  to  chastise 
us  freely,  for  what  offense  we  did  not  know.  Though 
it  kept  off  the  scorching  sun,  it  yielded  before  "T" 
wind  and  rain.  Our  bodies  could  bear  the  rage  of  IJJT1 
the  elements ;  but  how  could  we  protect  our  rations  ^"^ 
and  our  guns  against  the  weather?  These  things 
were  as  important  to  us  as  life  itself.  We  had  no 
other  place  of  shelter,  not  even  a  tree  to  protect  us. 
Crying  and  lamenting  were  of  no  use.  If  it  could  not 
be  helped,  we  could  at  least  sleep  a  good  sleep  ex- 
posed to  rain,  and  lose  our  fatigue  *from  the  day's 
work  in  pleasant  dreams.  If  any  one  could  have 
stolen  a  glance  at  our  sleeping  faces  on  such  a  night, 
what  a  sight  would  have  greeted  his  eyes !  There  we 
lay  fully  clothed,  with  long  disheveled  hair  and  un- 
shaven faces,  looking  like  beggars  or  mountain  ban- 
dits, our  tanned  skins  covered  with  dust  and  grime. 
We  were  terribly  emaciated,  our  only  delight  was  in 
eating.  Whenever  we  had  time,  our  thoughts  turned 
to  the  question:  What  can  we  get  to  eat? 

"Have  you  anything  good?" 

"No,  you  must  have  something  nice;  do  give  me 
some." 

These  were  the  usual  forms  of  greeting  when  we 
met.  Sometimes  when  our  mouths  were  too  lonely 
we  roasted  peas,  beans,  or  corn  and  would  chew 
them,  making  sounds  like  rats  biting  something 
hard.  Such  an  experience  showed  us  what  a  life  of 
luxury  we  had  been  living  at  home. 

in 


The  capture  of  Dalny  gave  our  army  improved 
facilities  for  the  conveyance  of  supplies,  and  we 
could  live  on  without  much  privation,  except  when 
we  were  actually  engaged  in  fighting.  The  soldiers 
received  their  regular  rations,  which  they  cooked  for 
themselves.  In  the  shadow  of  a  rock,  or  at  the  cor- 
ner of  a  stone  wall,  they  might  be  seen  cooking  their 
food  with  millet  stalks  as  fuel,  waiting  impatiently 
in  the  smouldering  smoke  for  the  rice  to  be  ready. 
They  were  like  happy  children.  The  relishes  were 
chiefly  cucumber,  dried  radish,  edible  fern,  dried 
sweet  potato,  or  canned  things.  These  were  prized 
as  great  delicacies,  as  we  were  frequently  obliged 
to  swallow  hard  biscuit  without  water,  or  to  welcome 
as  a  great  treat  half-cooked  rice  and  one  or  two  salt 
pickled  plums. 

Our  present  station  was  pleasanter  than  Chang- 
chia-tun.  Here  we  had  some  green  grass,  and  some 
lovable  blossoms  also  smiled  on  us.  We  would  pick 
these  flowers  and  arrange  them  in  empty  shells  or 
put  them  in  our  buttonholes  and  enjoy  their  fra- 
grance. The  tiny  blue  forget-me-nots  made  us 
sometimes  fly  in  imagination  to  our  dear  ones  at 
home. 

We  Japanese  fighters  had  another  foe  besides  the 
Russians,  and  it  was  the  formidable  fiend  called  cli- 
mate. However  brave  a  man  may  be,  he  may  fall 
sick  at  any  moment  and  have  to  leave  the  line  of 
battle;  this  is  being  wounded  by  the  enemy  called 

112 


climate,  or  sometimes  by  another  called  food.  Ex- 
posure  to  the  wind  and  rain  sometimes  brings  about 
epidemics.  It  is  hard  enough  to  wait  in  wet  clothes 
until  the  welcome  sun  comes  out  and  dries  us,  but  it 
adds  greatly  to  the  hardship  to  be  in  constant  dread 
lest  a  terrible  foe  come  and  assault  us  at  any  mo- 
ment. In  this  neighborhood  there  were  no  trees 
worth  the  name,  but  there  was  grass  enough  for  us 
to  thatch  improvised  roofs  for  temporary  quarters. 
These  grass  roofs  were  sufficient  to  keep  off  the  sun, 
but  were  of  no  use  against  rain  and  storm.  In  wet 
weather  they  were  even  worse  than  torn  tents.  We 
could  well  stand  the  storm  of  the  enemy's  fire,  but 
the  storm  of  the  elements  was  too  much  for  us.  Our 
soldiers  got  drenched  to  the  skin  and  chilled  through 
and  through ;  added  to  this  their  excessive  work  both 
night  and  day,  the  insufficiency  of  their  sleep,  and 
the  drinking  of  the  worst  possible  water,  all  combined 
to  bring  about  an  epidemic  of  dysentery,  which 
proved  a  heavy  drain  on  our  forces.  Attacked  by  this 
disease,  I,  who  had  been  fat  and  strong,  began  to  lose 
flesh  and  energy  very  fast  and  feared  that  I  might  be 
vanquished  eventually.  I  was  sad  and  grieved. .  Any 
sickness  is  far  from  welcome,  but  it  is  doubly  hard 
to  fall  ill  where  proper  medical  and  hygienic  sup- 
plies cannot  be  secured.  Moreover,  we  were  expect- 
ing every  day  to  be  ordered  forward  to  fight.  Should 
this  order  come  before  we  recovered,  we  must  be 
left  behind,  and  not  partake  in  the  glory  of  another 

"3 


battle.  This  thought  made  us  sick  men  still  more 
impatient  and  sad.  I  shall  never  forget  the  kindness 
of  three  men  who  were  my  benefactors  at  this  time. 
They  are  the  two  surgeons,  Masaichi  Yasui  and 
Hayime  Ando,  and  my  servant,  Bunkichi  Takao. 

In  spite  of  the  infectious  nature  of  my  trouble, 
these  surgeons  were  with  me  all  the  time,  and  at- 
tended to  my  medicine,  food,  and  nursing  very  care- 
fully. They  also  told  me  interesting  and  amusing 
stories  to  cheer  me  up  and  to  comfort  me.  Thanks 
to  their  efforts,  I  became  better  and  was  allowed  to 
join  the  glorious  fight  and  fulfill  my  allotted  duties. 
Fighting  together  makes  all  men  like  brothers,  or 
like  fathers  and  sons.  But  this  experience  attached 
me  particularly  to  these  men,  and  all  the  time  we 
were  stationed  in  this  place  I  rejoiced  to  labor  and 
suffer  with  them.  Dispersion  is  the  ordinary  rule  in 
the  battle-field;  moreover,  we  did  not  know  when 
we  might  be  separated  eternally  by  death.  In  the 
fierce  siege  of  a  strong  fortress,  death  and  injury  can- 
not be  limited  to  the  men  in  the  front  lines;  they  may 
visit  surgeons  and  other  non-combatants  in  the  rear. 
Not  only  that,  but  surgeons  have  often  to  risk  them- 
selves and  go  forward  to  the  firing  line  to  pick  up  the 
wounded.  We  never  know  who  will  be  the  first  to 
die. 

"  If  you  are  killed  and  I  remain  whole,  I  will  gather 
all  your  things  and  keep  them  as  a  dear  memento  of 
our  camp  life  together.  If  I  die  and  you  are  spared, 

114 


please  keep  a  piece  of  my  bloodstained  cloak  and 
hand  it  down  to  your  posterity.  My  crimson  blood 
will  thus  be  a  memento  of  my  sincere *  friendship  to 
you,  a  symbol  of  my  insignificant  service  loyally 
tendered  to  our  Great  Sire."  Thus  we  talked  and 
promised  and  became  the  best  of  friends.  However, 
in  the  confusion  of  a  battle-field  a  man  does  not 
commonly  know  where  his  particular  friend  fell, 
nor  can  he  usually  find  his  body.  A  chance  meet- 
ing, whether  dead  or  in  life,  was  of  course  an  excep- 
tion which  we  could  not  count  upon.  So  when  the 
first  general  assault  on  Port  Arthur  was  announced, 
I  shook  the  hands  of  these  two  surgeons  in  a  last 
farewell,  never  expecting  to  see  them  again  in  this 
world.  Later,  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  my  limbs 
were  shattered  at  Wangtai.  A  brave  soldier  rescued 
me  and  carried  me  away.  I  was  thus  removed  in  a 
strange  way  from  the  mouth  of  the  tiger.  I  lost  con- 
sciousness. When  I  recovered  my  senses,  it  was  my 
friends  Yasui  and  Ando  who  held  my  shattered 
hands  and  said,  "We  thank  you."  It  was  they  who 
had  been  taking  care  of  me. 

Bunkichi  Takao,  my  servant,  was  one  of  the  com- 
pany whom  I  had  trained  in  the  garrison.  I  admired 
his  faithfulness,  sincerity,  and  zeal.  When  I  was 
transferred  to  the  headquarters  of  the  regiment,  I 
made  a  special  request  to  his  captain  and  secured 

1  The  word  translated  here  "sincere  "  is  in  its  primary  mean- 
ing "red,"  hence  the  symbolism  of  the  bloodstained  garment. 


him  as  my  servant.  Even  in  time  of  peace  the  rela- 
tion between  an  officer  and  his  servant  is  very  close, 
but  when  once  in  the  battle-field  together  their  rela- 
tions become  still  closer.  It  is  no  more  master  and 
servant,  but  elder  and  younger  brother.  In  every- 
thing I  depended  upon  Takao,  and  he  in  return  be- 
came devotedly  attached  to  me.  He  cooked  for  me, 
and  brought  me  my  food;  somewhere  he  obtained  a 
big  water  jar,  carried  water  from  a  distance  to  fill  it, 
and  gave  me  the  luxury  of  a  good  hot  bath.  In  his 
letters  to  my  family,  we  find  such  passages  as  the 
following :  — 

"Since  coming  to  the  front,  we  two  have  been 
quite  well.  Please  put  your  heart  at  ease,  as  I  am 
taking  good  care  of  my  lieutenant.  In  the  battle- 
field we  don't  know  when  we  may  be  separated, 
but  I  shall  guard  my  lieutenant  even  after  death.  I 
shall  never  forget  his  kindness.  Forever  and  ever, 
please  consider  me  as  one  of  your  family." 

What  sincerity  and  faithfulness!  While  I  was  ill 
he  would  sit  up  all  night,  forgetting  his  own  tired- 
out  self,  to  stroke  my  chest  and  rub  my  arms.  When 
I  asked  for  food  in  great  hunger,  he  would  chide  me 
and  soothe  me  as  one  would  a  baby,  saying:  "You 
cannot  have  anything  now.  When  you  get  better,  I 
will  give  you  anything  you  want." 

He  paid  minute  attention  to  every  detail  and  left 
nothing  to  be  desired  in  nursing  me.  I  appreciated 
his  devotion  and  was  very  grateful  to  him.  Later, 

116 


when  I  was  wounded,  Takao  was  no  longer  my  ser- 
vant. He  also  was  wounded,  but  heard  of  my  injury 
as  he  was  being  sent  to  the  rear.   He  tried  hard  to    "T~ 
search  me  out  in  this  field  hospital  or  that,  but  he    ITT1 
could  not  find  me  and  was  greatly  grieved,  as  I  have    ^^ 
since  learned.   Heaven  seemed  willing  to  spare  the 
life  of  such  a  sincere  man  as  Takao.   He  had  the 
good  fortune  to  come  home  in  the  final  triumph. 
He  was  wounded  twice,  ordered  to  the  front  thrice, 
and  is  now  well  known  as  a  loyal  servant  and  a  vet- 
eran warrior.    Frequently  he  discharged  with  suc- 
cess the  important  duties  of  orderly,  his  undaunted 
courage  and  quick  sagacity  always  helping  him  in 
moments  of  difficulty. 

Although  our  camp  was,  as  you  have  seen,  ex- 
posed to  merciless  attacks  of  storm,  heat,  and  sick- 
ness, and  the  enemy's  projectiles  were  frequent  visit- 
ors to  beguile  our  lonely  moments,  nevertheless  the 
morale  of  men  and  officers  improved  day  by  day. 
They  were  hungering  and  thirsting  for  an  early 
chance  to  assume  the  offensive. 


4- 
Z 


SOME  BRAVE  MEN   AND  THEIR 
MEMORIAL 

THE  poor  Russians  who  were  hopelessly  in- 
vested in  Port  Arthur  were  being  driven  back 
into  a  smaller  and  smaller  space  every  day,  so  that 
of  necessity  they  tried  desperately  to  break  through 
our  line  and  enlarge  their  sphere  of  activity.  Their 
repeated  repulse  at  Kenzan  had  apparently  dis- 
couraged further  attempts  at  retaking  the  hill,  but 
almost  every  day  they  attacked  some  spot  on  our 
line  with  more  or  less  spirit.  However,  they  were 
never  once  successful,  and  their  efforts  resulted  only 
in  the  loss  of  ammunition  and  men. 

About  the  loth  of  July,  we  sent  some  advance 
patrols  to  a  steep  hill  in  front  of  our  line,  which  we 
named  Iwayama,  Rocky  Hill.  On  this  spot  the  ene- 
my's scouts  had  made  their  appearance  frequently 
and  tried  to  spy  out  the  condition  of  our  defenses. 
So  we  drove  them  away,  and  put  up  our  own  line  of 
outposts  there.  It  was  on  the  i6th  of  July,  while  it 
was  yet  pitch  dark,  that  Lieutenant  Sugimura  and  a 
handful  of  men  were  ordered  to  this  spot.  Even  in 

118 


summer  the  night  breeze  on  the  continent  is  cool, 
and  the  chilly  wind  swept  their  faces  through  the 
darkness  and  rustled  the  grass.  The  men,  reduced 
to  skin  and  bone,  and  with  morbidly  sensitive  nerves 
from  their  continued  insufficiency  of  sleep,  lay  watch- 
ing through  the  darkness  with  straining  eyes,  occa- 
sionally putting  an  ear  to  the  ground  to  listen  for 
footsteps,  thinking  that  the  enemy  must  be  sure  to 
come  on  such  a  night.  Suddenly  the  sentinel's  cry 
"The  enemy!"  was  followed  by  the  lieutenant's 
order  "Deploy  skirmishers!"  Cool  and  coura- 
geous, Sugimura  faced  the  attack  with  an  eager 
determination  to  defend  this  important  spot  to  the 
very  last.  The  enemy  encircled  them  from  three 
sides,  and  they  were  many  more  than  the  Japanese, 
though  the  exact  number  could  not  be  ascertained 
in  the  dark.  Moreover,  the  enemy  brought  machine- 
guns  and  attacked  the  Japanese  fiercely  on  the  flank. 
These  dreadful  engines  of  destruction  the  Russians 
relied  upon  as  their  best  means  of  defense.  Our 
army  had  faced  them  at  Nanshan  and  been  mowed 
down  by  hundreds  and  thousands.  Imagine  Lieu- 
tenant Sugimura,  with  only  a  handful  of  soldiers, 
fearlessly  brandishing  his  long  sword  and  directing 
his  men  to  fight  this  formidable  enemy.  The  fate 
of  the  small  group  of  defenders,  surrounded  by  the 
enemy  on  three  sides,  was  entirely  in  Sugimura's 
hand.  He  was  so  brave  and  his  men  so  valiant  that 
they  fought  on  for  two  hours  and  did  not  yield  even 

119 


an  inch  of  ground.  In  spite  of  their  overwhelming 
numbers,  the  Russians  seemed  to  find  the  Japanese 
too  much  for  them,  and  all  at  once  discontinued  the 
attack  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness.  But  our 
brave  Sugimurawas  severely  wounded.  A  shot  from 
a  machine-gun  went  through  his  head.  He  did  not 
succumb  to  the  wound  for  some  minutes,  but  con- 
tinued to  shout  and  encourage  his  men,  until  he  saw, 
though  his  blood  was  fast  running  into  his  eyes,  the 
enemy  retreat! 

The  Russians  left  more  than  ten  dead  behind 
them.  Early  next  morning,  July  17,  they  came  with 
a  Red- Cross  flag  and  stretchers,  coolly  approached 
our  patrol  line,  coming  as  near  as  fifty  metres, 
and  trying  to  peep  into  our  camp  under  the  pre- 
tense of  picking  up  their  dead!  This,  as  also  their 
unwarranted  use  of  the  white  flag  and  of  our  sun 
flag,  was  a  despicable  attempt  at  deceiving  us.  Not 
only  once,  but  frequently,  did  they  repeat  these 
shabby  tricks.  One  time  they  showed  their  mean- 
ness in  another  way.  At  one  spot  our  sentinel  no- 
ticed a  dark  shadow  coming  forward,  so  cried,  as 
usual:  — 

"Halt!  Who  goes  there?" 

"Officer  of  our  army  —  " 

The  Japanese  patrol  thought  that  a  scouting 
officer  had  come  back  and  said:  "Pass  on!"  Sud- 
denly the  dark  shadow  attacked  the  sentinel  with  his 
bayonet.  The. latter,  who  was  at  once  undeceived, 

1 20 


exclaimed:  "You  enemy!  Impudent  fellow !  Come 
on!"  and  knocked  him  down  with  the  stock  of  his 
rifle.    The  enemy  learned  a  few  Japanese  words  _L. 
and  tried  to  use  them  to  deceive  us.   Because  the   -j«- 
Russians  did  not  scruple  to  resort  to  such  small,  un-   «ZL 
manly  tricks,  we  had  always  to  be  very  careful  and 
vigilant. 

Lieutenant  Sugimura  was  picked  up  and  car- 
ried to  a  barn,  where  his  attendant,  Fukumatsu  Ito, 
nursed  him  as  a  mother  would  her  sick  child.  The 
faithful  Ito  grew  pale  with  anxiety  and  fatigue.  With 
his  eyes  full  of  tears,  he  would  comfort  and  nurse 
his  master.  It  was  a  touching  sight  to  see  him  so 
thoroughly  devoted  to  Lieutenant  Sugimura.  When 
the  latter  was  sent  to  a  field  hospital,  Ito  used  to  go 
to  visit  him  whenever  he  had  leisure,  walking  a 
great  distance  over  a  rough  road.  One  day  on  my 
way  back  from  the  headquarters  of  the  brigade,  I 
noticed  a  soldier  coming  up  the  hill,  panting  under  a 
heavy  load  on  his  shoulder.  Coming  nearer,  I  found 
it  was  Ito.  I  asked  him:  — 

"How  is  Lieutenant  Sugimura's  wound?" 

"  Extremely  bad,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  He  does  not 
understand  anything  to-day." 

"Indeed!  Sugimura  must  surely  be  grateful  for 
your  kind  care." 

At  this  word  of  praise,  Ito  dropped  a  few  tears, 
and  said:  "I  do  regret  that  I  was  not  wounded  to- 
gether with  my  lieutenant.  I  have  not  had  time 

121 


enough  to  return  his  kindness  to  me,  and  now  we 
must  part,  it  seems  to  me.  It  would  have  been  far 
better  if  we  had  died  together.  It  was  but  last  night 
that  my  lieutenant  grasped  my  hand  in  his  and  said 
to  me,  'I  am  very  grateful  to  you.'  I  felt  so  sad  then, 
and  longed  to  die  with  my  lieutenant." 

I  could  not  watch  this  faithful  man's  face  any 
longer.  He  added,  "I  must  hurry  on  and  see  him," 
and  went  on  in  a  dejected  state  of  mind.  His  heavy 
parcel  was  full  of  Sugimura's  things. 

Sugimura's  sad  wound  incited  all  the  officers  and 
men  to  a  greater  determination  to  chastise  the  enemy 
on  Taipo-shan  in  front  of  us;  they  were  all  anxious 
to  avenge  the  death  and  wounding  of  so  many  of 
their  comrades.  Those  who  died  on  outpost  duty 
were  of  course  sorry  not  to  give  their  lives  on  a 
more  glorious  battle-field.  Some  of  their  dying 
words  were  so  full  of  indignation  and  regret  that 
they  reached  the  marrow  of  the  hearer's  bones. 
As  one  of  the  most  characteristic  instances  of  this 
kind  I  venture  to  introduce  a  soldier  by  the  name  of 
Heigo  Yamashita.  This  man  was  always  earnest 
and  obedient  in  doing  his  duty  and  would  never 
grudge  any  amount  of  toil.  His  comrades  loved  and 
respected  him  and  regarded  him  as  a  model  soldier. 
One  day  he  turned  to  his  best  friend  and  said,  most 
solemnly :  — 

"I  never  expect  to  go  back  alive.  I  have  no  other 
desire  than  that  I  be  allowed  to  go  and  meet  my 

122 


comrades  who  died  ten  years  ago,  and  tell  them  that 
the  vengeance  is  complete  —  but  I  have  one  elder 
brother  who  is  living  in  poverty.  When  I  die,  please   •  i  • 
let  him  know  how  brilliantly  my  death-flower  bios- 
somed." 

Not  long  after  this,  he  was  ordered  to  convey  an 
important  message;  on  his  way  back  to  report  the 
successful  discharge  of  his  duty,  he  was  shot  through 
the  abdomen,  and  cried  out:  "What  of  this?  A 
mere  trifle!"  But  he  could  stand  no  longer.  He 
was  carried  to  the  first  aid  station ;  the  surgeon  who 
examined  him  shook  his  head  sadly  and  said  that 
the  man  could  not  be  saved. 

The  colonel  of  his  regiment  paid  a  visit  to  this 
valiant  soldier  and  comforted  him,  saying:  "Don't 
lose  hope!  You  suffer  badly,  but  you  must  keep 
up  your  courage."  But  seeing  that  the  man's  end 
was  fast  approaching,  the  colonel's  eyes  were  dim 
with  tears,  when  he  said:  "It  is  a  wound  of  honor! 
You  have  done  well."  At  this  kind  word  Heigo 
opened  his  eyes  a  little  and  squeezed  this  forcible 
entreaty  out  of  his  agony:  "Colonel,  please  pardon 
me.  —  Pray  avenge  me." 

His  hand  trembled,  and  his  lips  quivered  as  if  he 
wished  to  say  more;  soon  he  started  on  the  journey 
from  which  none  return.  Poor  Heigo !  he  could  not 
join  the  great  fight  soon  to  take  place,  but  died  in 
this  sad  way.  An  apology  for  not  doing  anything 
better  and  an  entreaty  to  be  avenged  were  the  last 

123 


words  of  this  loyal  subject.  On  the  following  day 
his  comrades  interred  his  remains  in  the  field,  and 
Chaplain  Toyama  read  prayers  and  gave  him  a  post- 
humous name  according  to  the  Buddhist  custom. 
The  tomb-post  bearing  this  new  name  was  set  up 
facing  Port  Arthur.1 

Here  I  must  tell  you  about  a  memorial  service  for 
the  dead  that  was  held  in  the  camp.  Since  our  at- 
tack on  Kenzan,  we  had  lost  no  small  number  of 
men,  so  his  Excellency  the  Commander  of  our  Divi- 
sion appointed  the  ist  of  July  for  a  service  in  mem- 
ory of  those  brave  souls.  An  altar  was  raised  on  a 
farm  near  Lingshwuihotszu  toward  the  cloudy  even- 
ing of  that  day.  It  was  called  an  altar,  but  in  reality 
it  was  only  a  desk  that  we  found  in  a  farmer's  yard. 
It  was  covered  with  white  cloth,  and  a  picture  of 
Amida  Buddha  that  Chaplain  Toyama  happened 
to  have  was  hung  above  it.  In  front  of  the  altar, 
boxes  were  piled  up  containing  the  ashes,  —  these 
boxes  were  about  five  inches  square.  Also  provision 
was  made  for  burning  incense,  and  the  altar  was  set 
facing  Port  Arthur.  The  dim  light  of  candles  added 
to  the  gloom  and  sadness  of  the  occasion ;  the  insects 
singing  far  and  near  seemed  to  chant  about  the  in- 
constancy of  all  things.  A  shower  falling  through 
the  willow-branches,  which  were  being  combed  by 
the  winds,  seemed  like  tears  of  heaven.  The  officers 
of  the  division  formed  a  semicircle  before  the  altar, 

1  To  enable  his  spirit  to  see  the  fall  of  the  fortress. 
124 


the  soldiers  stood  behind  them,  and  when  the  read- 
ing of  the  Scriptures  by  the  chaplain  was  ended,  the 
commander  stepped  forward  solemnly  and  offered  -+- 
incense,  then  bowed  his  head  and  did  not  raise  it  for 
some  minutes.  His  heart  was  full  of  untold  grief 
and  gratitude.  His  lips  were  repeating  the  phrase, 
"You  have  done  well!"  The  spirits  of  the  brave 
dead  must  also  have  been  grieved  to  have  left  such 
a  worthy  general.  Other  officers,  one  by  one,  fol- 
lowed the  general,  bowing  and  offering  incense, 
each  sorrowing  over  his  unfortunate  subordinates. 
"You  have  fought  bravely  and  proved  the  success 
of  my  training.  You  have  faithfully  done  your 
duty  and  been  useful  instruments  in  the  hands  of 
His  Majesty,"  was  the  silent  tribute  each  officer 
gave  his  own  men.  The  surviving  men,  who  had 
entered  the  garrison  at  the  same  time  with  those 
unfortunate  comrades  and  striven  with  them  in  the 
performance  of  their  daily  duties,  must  have  envied 
their  manly,  heroic  death  and  wished  they  had 
so  distinguished  themselves  as  to  die  with  them. 
The  drops  moistening  the  sleeves  of  the  officers  and 
men,  now  bowing  before  the  altar,  were  not  merely 
from  the  shower  of  heaven. 


/N 

THE  BATTLE  OF   TAIPO-SHAN 

AFTER  we  repulsed  the  enemy  at  Kenzan  in 
their  desperate  attempts  at  retaking  the  hill, 
our  position  increased  daily  in  strength.  On  the 
one  hand,  every  preparation  was  being  made  for 
an  aggressive  movement.  Twelve  guns  captured 
at  Nanshan  were  arranged  on  the  heights  near 
Lwanni-chiao,  and  six  heavy  naval  guns  were  placed 
on  the  height  to  the  west  of  Chuchin-antsu.  On  the 
other  hand,  powerful  scouting  parties  were  being 
frequently  dispatched  to  ascertain  the  arrangement 
of  the  advance  posts  of  the  enemy.  At  this  time, 
the  enemy's  main  position  was  on  the  steep  hills 
between  Eijoshi  in  the  north  with  Shwangtai-kou 
and  Antsu-ling  in  the  middle,  and  Taipo-shan  and 
Laotso-shan  in  the  south.  They  had  fortified  these 
naturally  strong  places  with  everything  that  money 
and  time  could  afford,  fully  determined  not  to  allow 
us  Japanese  to  advance  even  one  step  south  of  this 
line.  So  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  take  this  posi- 
tion by  storm.  But  we  had  been  drawing  our  bow 
for  a  month,  and  were  now  quite  ready  and  anxious 
126 


to  let  the  arrow  go.  The  opportunity  ripened,  the 
men's  morale  was  at  its  best.  On  July  26,  all  the 
columns  and  corps  started  from  our  position  with 
one  accord  to  descend  upon  the  Russian  position  in 
the  south. 

The  sole  objective  of  the  regiment  to  which  I 
belonged  was  the  strongly  fortified  Taipo-shan,  on 
which  the  enemy  relied  as  the  most  important  point 
in  their  advance  position.  On  the  night  previous 
to  the  opening  of  hostilities  the  plan  of  campaign 
was  minutely  explained  to  us;  the  brigadier-general 
specially  urged  officers  and  men  to  do  their  utter- 
most and  never  to  stop  until  the  place  was  captured, 
saying  that  this  battle  was  the  first  important  step 
toward  the  real  investment  of  Port  Arthur,  and  that 
we  were  to  attack  the  strongest  of  the  enemy's  ad- 
vance posts.  Our  colonel  also  addressed  us,  and  said 
that  this  was  the  first  time  that  our  regiment  was 
to  fight  as  a  whole;  that  the  final  victory  of  a  battle 
is,  in  fact,  won  early  in  the  struggle;  that  all  our 
lives  belonged  to  him  as  our  commander  and  that 
he  would  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  them,  but  would 
resort  to  whatever  means  he  might  think  advisable, 
during  the  act  of  fighting.  He  also  told  us  that  this 
was  the  time  for  us  to  put  to  test  the  spirit  of  Bu- 
shido,1  in  which  we  had  been  long  and  carefully 

1  The  Japanese  code  of  knightly  honor.  For  further  partic- 
ulars see  "Bushido,  or  The  Soul  of  Japan,"  by  Inazo  Nitobe, 
published  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons. 

127 


trained;  that  we  must  remember  his  every-play  in- 
structions in  general  and  the  one  given  on  the  day 
of  our  departure  from  the  garrison  in  particular,  so 
that  we  might  concentrate  our  thoughts  and  aspira- 
tions upon  justifying  His  Majesty's  gracious  trust 
in  us,  and  be  ready  to  fall,  all  of  us,  under  the  hon- 
ored banner  of  our  regiment.  This  was  truly  a  sol- 
emn injunction !  The  commanders  of  the  battalions 
and  companies  followed  suit,  and  each  of  us  was 
carefully  put  in  mind  of  his  duty  and  urged  to  do 
his  very  best  to  keep  the  honor  of  the  regiment 
unsullied.  Thus  our  already  willing  determina- 
tion was  made  still  firmer  and  stronger.  We  were 
in  such  an  uplifted  state  of  mind  that  we  had 
taken  the  whole  of  Taipo-shan  before  beginning 
hostilities. 

The  scene  in  the  camp  presented  an  extraordinary 
sight  during  the  night  previous  to  our  march.  Com- 
rade was  whispering  with  comrade  here  and  there. 
Some  there  were  who  grasped  their  rifles  lightly  and 
smiled  a  lonely  smile  by  themselves.  Others  changed 
to  their  best  and  cleanest  underwear,  so  that  they 
might  not  disgrace  themselves  before  the  enemy, 
dead  in  dirty  clothing.  Still  others  were  looking 
vacantly  into  the  heavens  and  singing  in  an  under- 
tone. And  what  was  I  thinking  at  this  moment? 
All,  I  hope,  were  equally  anxious  to  be  able  to 
die  happy  and  contented,  saying,  "I  have  done  my 
duty,  by  the  blessing  of  Heaven." 

128 


Before  daybreak  of  the  26th  of  July,  when  the 
fog  was  so  thick  that  we  could  not  see  a  foot 
ahead,  and  a  cool  breeze  was  sweeping  through  •*- 
space  after  the  shower  of  the  previous  evening,  thou-  _!_• 
sands  of  warriors  began  to  move  like  a  long  ser-  * 
pent  through  the  dark.  At  3  A.  M.  we  reached  the 
foot  of  Iwayama,  which  was  assigned  to  the  reserve 
of  our  regiment.  On  the  top  of  this  hill  was  the  posi- 
tion for  the  skirmishers;  another  hill  to  the  right 
was  assigned  to  the  artillery.  Until  the  signal  for 
opening  hostilities  was  given,  even  one  man's  head 
was  not  allowed  to  be  thrust  out  of  the  line.  All 
loaded  their  guns  and  were  breathlessly  waiting  for 
the  colonel's  order,  "Fire!"  He  was  standing  on 
the  top  of  Iwayama  with  his  field-glasses  in  his 
hand;  his  aide-de-camp  stood  before  him  with  an 
open  map,  and  occasionally  fumbled  about  in  his 
knapsack.  Pack-horses  loaded  with  ammunition 
were  gathered  together  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and 
the  soldiers  detailed  to  distribute  it  were  eagerly 
waiting  to  begin  work.  The  signal  was  to  be  a 
cannon-shot ;  we  studied  the  hands  of  our  watches 
and  our  hearts  jumped  as  the  time  went  on  minute 
after  minute. 

At  forty-nine  minutes  past  seven,  the  first  roar 
was  at  last  heard  on  the  left  wing.  It  was  the  signal 
for  commencing  attack  on  the  enemy  along  Laotso- 
shan  and  Taipo-shan.  For  the  last  twenty  days, 
we  had  not  discharged  a  single  shot,  so  this  cannon 

129 


report  must  have  taken  the  enemy  unawares,  and 
their  hurried  response  sounded  dull  and  sleepy  and 
went  high  above  our  heads.  Our  plan  was  that  the 
left  wing  should  first  attack  and  defeat  the  enemy  on 
Laotso-shan,  and  then  our  detachment  was  to  rein- 
force it.  So  we  had  to  remain  idle  for  some  time  and 
watch  the  progress  of  their  attack  on  Laotso-shan. 
After  a  while,  our  naval  guns  began  to  make  such  a 
tremendous  noise,  that  we  hoped  the  enemy  would 
soon  be  scared  to  death  and  give  up  their  advance 
posts  as  our  easy  prey.  But  they  proved  stronger 
than  we  thought  and  did  not  disperse  themselves 
like  baby-spiders  before  our  assault. 

The  fight  increased  in  severity  as  time  went  on; 
our  whole  artillery  was  concentrated  upon  the  heavy 
artillery  on  the  northern  slope  of  Laotso-shan  and 
endeavored  with  might  and  main  to  silence  them. 
After  some  time,  when  the  enemy's  fire  had  slack- 
ened a  little,  our  infantry  of  the  left  wing  began  to 
march  forward  under  the  protecting  fire  of  our  ar- 
tillery. At  once  they  captured  a  crescent-shaped 
height,  about  two  thousand  metres  ahead  of  us; 
immediately  afterward  they  turned  to  the  left  and 
occupied  the  northern  shoulder  of  Laotso-shan  at 
ten  o'clock.  It  seemed  that  the  Russians  had  not 
fortified  these  places  very  strongly,  for,  after  some 
resistance,  they  gave  up  the  large  fort  on  the  import- 
ant spot  of  Laotso-shan.  Still  their  resistance  was 
quite  stubborn,  and  even  when  our  infantry  occu- 

130 


pied  the  top  of  the  hill,  a  portion  of  the  enemy  still 
stuck  to  the  southern  slope  and  stood  fearlessly  and 
desperately  under  our  concentrated  downward  fire. 
This  was  the  cause  of  the  long  duration  of  this  at-  •*• 
tack.  Eventually  our  left  wing  succeeded  in  routing  * 
and  driving  them  away  from  this  spot;  but  they 
had  the  inlet  of  Lungwang-tang  at  their  back  and 
could  not  retreat  in  that  direction.  Soon  they  were 
hard  pressed  and  obliged  to  leave  many  dead  and 
wounded  behind;  the  remainder  jumped  into  junks 
and  concealed  themselves  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  inlet. 

The  work  assigned  to  the  left  wing  being  thus 
finished,  our  regiment  now  had  the  great  oppor- 
tunity of  attacking  the  enemy.  Whereupon  Colonel 
Aoki  ordered  all  his  captains,  "Whole  line  begin 
firing  from  the  right."  All  at  once  the  whole  line 
thrust  out  its  head,  the  first  and  second  battalions 
on  the  right  and  the  third  on  the  left.  Their  firing 
sounded  like  popping  corn.  As  soon  as  we  began, 
the  Russian  bullets  began  to  fall  in  large  drops 
about  us,  stirring  up  sand,  kicking  stones,  and  fell- 
ing men.  Those  that  passed  near  our  ears  made  a 
whistling  sound,  and  those  going  high  through  the 
air,  a  trembling  boom.  Our  skirmish-line,  forming 
a  long  chain,  lost  its  links  here  and  there;  the  car- 
riers of  stretchers  ran  hither  and  thither  conveying 
the  dead  and  wounded  to  the  first  aids.  There  was 
not  only  the  hail  of  rifle-shot,  but  large  projectiles 


began  to  burst  over  our  heads  and  emit  white  smoke. 
The  fragments  of  shell  fell  on  the  ground  with  a 
thud  and  made  holes,  or  pierced  the  skirmishers' 
heads  from  above.  Sometimes  the  empty  case  of 
a  shell  would  go  past  the  hill  and  fall  in  the  midst 
of  our  reserve.  While  I  was  still  with  the  reserve  I 
actually  saw  a  soldier,  who  was  struck  by  such  an 
empty  shell,  lose  his  right  arm  and  die  on  the  spot. 
When  we  examined  an  empty  shell  later  on,  we 
discovered  inside  it,  first  a  piece  of  overcoat,  then  a 
piece  of  coat,  then  a  piece  of  undershirt,  then  flesh 
and  bone,  then  again  underwear,  coat,  and  over- 
coat, together  with  grass  and  pebbles  stained  with 
blood. 

This  struggle  lasted  for  several  hours ;  the  enemy's 
artillery  was  very  strong  and  we  could  not  find  a 
chance  to  go  forward.  Our  dead  and  wounded  in- 
creased so  fast  that  the  stretchers  prepared  were 
not  sufficient.  The  fire  reached  even  the  first  aid 
stations  far  in  the  rear.  Some  wounded  soldiers  there 
were  injured  again  or  killed.  It  was  a  desperate 
fight.  The  reserves  were  brought  about  to  the  left 
of  the  artillery's  position,  so  that  they  could  form 
an  assaulting  column  at  a  moment's  notice  and 
rush  upon  the  enemy  when  the  opportunity  came. 
At  this  time  I  was  with  them,  carrying  the  regi- 
mental flag.  Because  our  position  was  with  the  ar- 
tillery and  because  the  flag  was  a  great  target  for  the 
enemy,  the  Russians  in  Wangchia-tun  began  at  once 

132 


a  fierce  fire  on  us.  Their  concentrated  fire  was  well 
aimed,  and  their  shells  came  like  rain,  falling  side' 
ways  in  the  wind.  When  the  smoke  cleared  awa}  **— 
for  a  minute,  we  found  a  lieutenant  who  had,  just  a  — *-. 
moment  before,  been  bravely  ordering  his  men,  lying 
dead  covered  with  blood.  The  chief  of  the  gun  de- 
tachment and  also  the  gunners  were  torn  to  pieces, 
their  brains  gushing  out  and  their  bowels  mixing 
with  mud  and  blood.  When  the  reserve  gunners 
went  to  take  their  places,  they  also  were  killed. 
Such  a  bloody  scene  can  never  be  realized  without 
an  actual  sight;  my  pen  is  powerless  to  describe  it. 
Our  reserve  having  suffered  no  small  loss  before 
the  strong  fire  of  the  enemy,  we  had  no  resource 
left  but  to  try  a  desperate  assault  upon  them.  Every 
moment  longer  that  we  remained  in  this  position 
meant  the  loss  of  so  many  more  men.  Clouds  had 
been  gathering  and  lowering  in  the  sky  for  some 
time;  it  was  dark  and  dreary.  Soon  the  swift  wind 
ran  side  by  side  with  powder  and  smoke,  and  muddy 
rain  fell  obliquely  with  the  shot  and  shell.  At  this 
dismal  stage  of  affairs  we,  the  reserves,  were  ordered 
to  join  the  colonel.  We  at  once  left  the  artillery  and 
began  to  march  to  the  left,  clambering  over  the 
rocks.  The  sharp  wind  flapped  the  colors  vio- 
lently, and  I  feared  that  they  might  be  torn  to 
pieces  any  moment.  At  this  juncture  a  shell  burst 
over  my  head  and  its  fragments  rent  the  air;  a  part 
of  the  flag  was  blown  away,  a  man  was  killed, 

133 


&l 


and  a  piece  of  the  shell  fell  into  a  valley  far  be- 
hind us. 

As  was  said  before,  the  colonel  was  on  the  top 
of  Iwayama;  the  enemy  was  sure  that  our  strength 
was  concentrated  there  and  showered  upon  it  a  hail- 
storm of  shrapnel.  Colonel  Aoki  stood  in  the  midst 
of  that  as  firm  and  unflinching  as  Ni-o  or  Fudo,1 
staring  at  the  enemy  with  steady  gaze.  When  I  ap- 
proached him  and  reported  the  tearing  of  the  flag, 
he  simply  remarked,  "So!"  After  a  while  he  said, 
"Is  n't  this  just  like  a  manoeuvre?" 

He  was  so  full  of  courage  and  strength,  his  fear- 
less and  composed  attitude  was  such  an  inspiration 
to  his  subordinates,  that  the  somewhat  despondent 
soldiers  at  once  recovered  their  spirits  and  energy 
on  looking  up  at  his  face. 

It  was  already  2  P.  M.,  and  yet  the  fighting  had 
not  come  to  any  decisive  result.  Our  casualties  in- 
creased in  number  hour  after  hour.  At  this  moment 
a  portion  of  our  left  wing  began  to  move  forward. 
Our  detachment  was  also  ordered  forward,  where- 
upon the  whole  line  of  men  rose  like  a  dark  fence, 
and  pushed  on  right  to  the  muzzles  of  the  enemy's 
guns.  The  Russians  seized  this  opportunity  to  in- 
crease the  intensity  of  their  fire;  those  of  us  who 

1  Ni-6,  the  two  kings,  Indra  and  Brahma,  who  keep  guard 
at  the  gateways  of  Buddhist  temples,  to  scare  away  demons. 
They  are  noted  for  their  grimness  of  expression.  Fudo,  the 
"  Immovable,"  the  God  of  Wisdom,  who  is  represented  of  stern 
expression,  and  surrounded  by  a  halo  of  flames. 

134 


went  forward  were  mowed  down,  and  those  who  did 
not  press  on  were  already  dead!  Lieutenant  Yat- 
suda  was  shot  through  the  chest,  yet  he  continued 
to  shout,  "Forward!  Forward!"  paying  no  atten- 
tion to  the  gushing  blood  and  without  letting  his  men 
know  of  his  wound.  He  pressed  on  furiously  about 
a  thousand  metres  toward  the  enemy,  and  when  he 
approached  the  line  to  be  occupied  he  shouted  Ban- 
zai faintly  and  died. 

A  brave  commander's  men  are  always  brave !  One 
of  Yatsuda's  men  had  his  right  arm  shattered  be- 
fore his  lieutenant  was  shot,  but  he  would  not  stay 
behind.  When  the  lieutenant  told  him  to  go  to  the 
first  aid,  he  said,  "Why,  such  a  tiny  wound!  I  can 
still  fight  very  well,  sir."  He  poured  out  water  from 
his  bottle  and  washed  his  wound,  bound  it  up  with  a 
Japanese  towel,  and  pressed  on  panting  with  the 
skirmishers,  his  gun  in  his  left  hand.  When  he  came 
near  the  enemy's  line,  he  was  killed  by  the  side  of 
Lieutenant  Yatsuda,  whom  the  brave  fellow  con- 
sidered his  elder  brother.  Even  in  his  death  he 
grasped  his  gun  firmly.  Both  of  them  showed  the 
true  spirit  of  Japanese  warriors,  doing  their  duty 
till  the  last  moment  and  even  after  death. 

At  last  the  reserve  in  the  hands  of  Colonel  Aoki 
was  reduced  to  two  companies  of  infantry  and  one 
of  engineers.  What  a  disastrous  struggle  this  had 
been!  Ever  since  morning  our  artillery  had  been  try- 
ing hard  to  silence  the  powerful  guns  of  the  enemy. 

135 


Their  desperate  efforts  were  all  in  vain,  and  the 
strong  posts  of  the  enemy  remained  without  damage. 
What  a  disappointment !  Our  infantry  were  already 
only  five  or  six  hundred  metres  from  the  enemy, 
but  until  our  artillery  should  have  destroyed  the 
offensive  and  defensive  works  of  the  Russian  forts, 
an  assault  would  have  resulted  only  in  complete 
annihilation.  So  these  infantry  men  were  patiently 
waiting  quite  close  to  the  enemy  for  the  right 
moment  to  come.  The  long  summer  day  at  last 
came  to  its  close,  and  the  dreary  curtain  of  darkness 
enveloped  the  scene  of  battle. 

The  rain  ceased  for  awhile,  but  the  night  was  dis- 
mal. Hundreds  of  dead  bodies  were  strewn  on  hill 
and  in  valley,  while  the  enemy's  forts  towered  high 
against  the  dark  sky  as  if  challenging  us  to  a  fruit- 
less attack.  But  our  morale  was  not  at  all  impaired; 
on  the  contrary,  this  day's  failure  added  to  our  firm 
resolve  to  storm  and  defeat  the  Russians  on  the 
next.  During  the  night  the  firing  of  guns  and  rifles 
went  on  unceasingly,  and  in  carrying  the  dead  we 
had  to  use  tents  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  stretchers. 
The  wounded  were  also  picked  up  and  carried  to 
the  rear  by  the  ambulance  men.  And  we  who  had 
escaped  injury  sat  by  the  side  of  our  silent  dead  and 
without  sleep  waited  impatiently  for  a  better  day  to 
break. 


THE  OCCUPATION  OF  TAIPO-SHAN 

ON  the  next  day,  the  2yth,  fully  determined 
to  drive  out  the  enemy,  our  entire  artillery 
began  firing  at  early  dawn,  striving  to  open  a  pas- 
sage for  our  infantry.  Our  bombardment  was  more 
violent  than  on  the  previous  day,  and  the  enemy's 
response  was  also  proportionately  fiercer.  Why  was 
it  that  the  Russian  forts  were  so  strangely  impreg- 
nable? On  the  line  connecting  the  heights  their 
trenches  were  faced  with  rocks  and  covered  with 
timber  roofs,  and  they  could  fire  at  us  through  port- 
holes, safely  concealed  and  protected  from  our  burst- 
ing shells.  They  had  quick-firing  guns  and  machine- 
guns  arranged  in  different  places  so  that  they  could 
fire  at  us  from  all  points  and  directions,  and  these 
formidable  guns  were  well  protected  with  strong 
works  built  of  strong  material.  Added  to  all  this, 
the  side  of  our  hill  and  the  opposite  side  of  their 
hill  formed  a  rocky  valley  with  almost  perpendicu- 
lar walls,  so  that  we  could  not  climb  down  or  up 
without  superhuman  efforts.  To  attack  such  a 
strongly  armed  enemy  in  a  place  of  such  natural 

137 


advantage  meant  a  great  amount  of  sacrifice  on 
our  part. 

So  long  as  our  artillery  remained  unsuccessful, 
our  rifle  fire  was  of  course  of  no  use.  Somehow  we 
must  damage  the  enemy's  machine-guns,  otherwise 
all  our  efforts  would  end  only  in  adding  to  our  al- 
ready long  list  of  dead  and  wounded.  This  we  well 
understood,  but  if  we  could  not  utilize  our  firearms, 
our  only  and  last  resource  was  to  shoot  off  human 
beings,  to  attack  with  bullets  of  human  flesh.  With 
such  unique  weapons, — human  bullets,  the  consoli- 
dated essence  of  Yamato  Damashii, — how  could  we 
fail  to  rout  the  enemy?  Orders  were  soon  given. 
The  fifth,  seventh,  and  tenth  companies  of  our  regi- 
ment precipitated  themselves  down  into  the  valley 
and  began  a  furious  assault  on  the  enemy;  where- 
upon the  Russian  artillery,  who  had  hitherto  been 
aiming  at  our  artillery,  directed  their  guns  upon 
this  forlorn  hope,  this  rushing  column.  Simultane- 
ously all  the  machine-guns  and  all  the  infantry  in 
the  forts  concentrated  their  fire  upon  this  desperate 
body,  who  pressed  on  like  a  swift  wind  with  shouts 
and  yells,  not  a  whit  daunted  by  this  devilish 
fire.  Their  shrieks  and  the  cannon-roar  combined 
sounded  like  a  hundred  thunders  thundering  at  the 
same  moment.  Press  on !  rush  in !  They  fought  like 
so  many  furies,  wounded  officers  unheeded  and 
fallen  comrades  ignored!  Stepping  on  and  jump- 
ing over  the  dead  and  dying,  the  survivors  came  at 

138 


last  within  a  dozen  metres  or  so  of  the  enemy.  But 
they  could  not  overcome  nature  —  the  rocky  preci- 
pice stood  like  a  screen  before  them,  and  half  their 
comrades  were  strewn  dead  on  the  side  of  the  hill 
at  their  backs;  they  could  do  nothing  but  stand 
there  facing  and  staring  at  the  enemy.  While  this 
assaulting  column  was  pressing  on  under  the  heavy 
shower  of  shells  and  bullets,  the  sight  was  stirring 
beyond  words;  the  men  moved  on  like  light  gray 
shadows  enshrouded  in  volumes  of  smoke.  Some  of 
them  were  seen  flying  high  up  in  the  air,  hurled  by 
the  big  shells.  When  their  bodies  were  picked  up, 
some  had  no  wound  at  all,  but  the  skin  had  turned 
purplish  all  over.  This  was  caused  by  the  throwing 
up  and  consequent  heavy  fall  on  the  ground. 

The  enemy's  resistance  was  so  stubborn  that  our 
fire  seemed  as  powerless  as  beating  a  big  temple- 
bell  with  a  pin.  If  we  had  gone  on  in  this  way,  we 
might  have  failed  entirely.  We  had  to  attempt  a 
final  charge  at  the  risk  of  annihilation.  Soon  the  fol- 
lowing order  was  given  by  the  brigadier-general :  — 

"The  courageous  behavior  of  our  officers  and 
men  since  the  beginning  of  the  battle  is  worthy  of  all 
admiration.  Our  brigade  is  to  attack  the  enemy 
along  the  eastern  side  of  Taipo-shan  at  5  P.  M.  to- 
day, to  bombard  with  the  entire  force  of  the  artillery, 
and  the  left  wing  to  charge  when  our  bombardment 
opens  to  them  an  opportunity,  and  thus  to  over- 
whelm and  defeat  the  enemy.  Your  regiment  must 

139 


strive  with  the  utmost  effort  to  improve  this  op- 
portunity  and  occupy  the  enemy's  position  at  your 
front." 

Yes,  we  were  anxious  to  defeat  the  enemy  with 
our  utmost  and  most  desperate  effort !  This  was  the 
day  for  us  to  unfurl  our  colors  high  above  the  ene- 
my's fortress  and  to  comfort  the  spirits  of  those  who 
during  the  past  few  days  had  died  without  hearing 
a  triumphant  Banzai. 

A  group  of  officers,  while  waiting  for  a  proper 
opportunity  to  strike,  were  talking  about  the  condi- 
tion of  affairs  since  the  previous  morning. 

"The  enemy  is  certainly  brave!  I  noticed  a  Rus- 
sian officer  commanding  his  men  from  the  top  of  a 
breastwork." 

"Yes,  they  are  fighting  hard;  but  we  must  carry 
their  position  to-day!" 

We  were  beginning  to  feel  that  the  Russian  strength 
came  not  only  from  their  mechanical  defenses,  but 
also  from  their  intrepid  behavior;  but  all  were 
agreed  in  their  ardent  resolve  to  defeat  the  enemy 
and  avenge  their  unfortunate  comrades.  Presently 
a  young  officer  came  along  with  a  bottle  of  beer. 
Since  the  previous  day  we  had  been  almost  with- 
out food  or  drink,  and  this  bottle  of  beer  seemed  a 
strange  sight  on  the  battle-field.  We  all  wondered 
who  he  might  be,  and  as  he  drew  nearer  we  recog- 
nized Lieutenant  Kwan,  adjutant  of  the  battalion. 

"Isn't  it  a  rare  treat,  this  beer?   I  have  been 
140 


carrying  this  bottle  in  my  belt  since  yesterday,  to 
drink  a  Banzai  in  the  enemy's  position.  But  now  let 
us  drink  it  together  as  a  farewell  cup.  You  have  all  — j— 
been  very  kind  to  me  —  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  «|—» 
die  beautifully  to-day." 

The  young  officer  talked  very  cheerily  and  yet  in 
real  earnest,  and  filled  his  aluminum  cup  with  the 
golden  beverage.  The  cup  went  round  among  the 
group,  and  we  smiled  a  melancholy  smile  over 
the  drink.  This  ceremony  over,  Lieutenant  Kwan 
raised  the  empty  bottle  high  in  the  air  and  shouted, 
"  I  pray  for  your  health ! "  and  ran  away  to  bury  the 
dead.  How  could  we  know  that  this  was  his  true 
farewell  ?  Soon  afterwards,  without  waiting  for  the 
happy  moment  of  shouting  Banzai  in  the  enemy's 
position,  he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  illustrious  dead. 
He  and  I  came  from  the  same  province  and  we  were 
very  old  and  intimate  friends;  he  loved  me  as  his 
younger  brother.  So,  every  time  we  met  on  the  bat- 
tle-field, we  used  to  grasp  each  other's  hand  with 
fervor  and  say,  "Are  you  all  right?"  Even  such  an 
exchange  of  words  was  an  occasion  of  great  pleasure 
to  us.  At  this  meeting,  not  knowing  of  course  that 
it  was  the  last  time  I  was  to  see  him,  I  failed  to 
thank  him  for  all  his  past  friendship  toward  me.  We 
had  such  a  hurried,  unsatisfactory,  eternal  good-by, 
as  is  usual  on  the  battle-field.  I  learned  afterward 
that  the  lieutenant,  while  superintending  the  burial 
of  the  dead,  said  to  his  men:  "Please  cover  them 

141 


carefully  with  earth,  because  I  myself  am  to  be 
treated  in  the  same  way  very  soon." 

Was  he  really  conscious  of  his  impending  death  ? 
Lieutenant  Yatsuda  also,  who  died  earlier  than 
Kwan,  suddenly  pulled  out  a  packet  of  dry  chest- 
nuts1 from  his  pocket  during  his  advance  and  said 
to  his  servant:  "This  was  offered  to  the  gods  by  my 
mother,  and  she  told  me  to  eat  this  without  fail  be- 
fore fighting.  I  will  eat  one  and  you  also  eat  one. 
This  may  be  our  last  farewell!" 

They  bowed  politely  and  munched  the  hard  nuts 
together!  Of  course  we  were  all  ready  for  death,  and 
each  time  we  met  we  thought  was  the  last.  But  when 
the  true  moment  comes,  some  mysterious,  invisible 
wire  seems  to  bring  the  sad  message  to  the  heart. 

It  was  5  P.  M.  Our  whole  artillery  opened  fire  at 
the  same  time,  and  the  whole  force  of  infantry  also 
joined  in  the  bombardment.  Heaven  and  earth  at 
once  became  dark  with  clouds  of  smoke,  and  the  war 
of  flying  balls  and  exploding  shells  threatened  to 
rend  mountain  and  valley.  This  was  meant  to  be 
the  decisive  battle,  so  its  violence  and  fury  were  be- 
yond description.  Our  infantry  shot  and  advanced, 
stopped  and  shot,  rushing  on  and  jumping  forward. 
The  hail-storm  of  the  enemy's  projectiles  did  not  al- 
low them  to  march  straight  on.  Sometimes  "Lieu- 

1  Kacki-guri,  dry  chestnuts.    The  word  kachi  also   means 
victory,  hence  it  is  one  of  the  articles  given  to  a  departing  soldier 
as  a  wish  for  his  success. 
142 


tenant"  was  the  last  faint  word  of  gratitude  from  a 
dying  man.  Again  "  A-a !"  was  the  only  sound  made 
by  the  expiring  soldier.  But  this  was  not  the  mo-  '  !• 
ment  to  take  notice  of  these  sickening  scenes;  we  .!_ 
had  to  press  on  if  it  were  only  an  inch  nearer  the 
enemy.  What  did  the  brigadier-general  say  in  his 
message  ?  "  I  admire  your  bravery,"  were  the  words. 
Did  he  not  say,  "strive  with  your  utmost  effort"? 
Forward !  march !  advance !  and  be  killed !  This  was 
not  the  time  to  stop  for  even  half  a  moment !  Such 
was  the  thought,  and  such  were  the  words  of  en- 
couragement from  the  officers,  who  ran  about  right 
and  left  on  the  battle-line,  brandishing  their  drawn 
swords,  stirring  up  their  men  and  inspiring  them 
with  invincible  spirit.  Two  companies  of  reserves 
and  reserve  engineers  were  also  sent  to  the  first  line. 
At  last  our  First  Battalion  came  within  twenty  metres 
of  the  enemy,  but  the  screen-like  rocky  hill  on  which 
there  was  hardly  any  foothold  still  stood  before 
them.  Desperately  anxious  to  climb  up,  yet  utterly 
unable  to  do  so  while  the  shower  of  the  enemy's 
bullets  swept  them  from  the  side,  the  Second  Com- 
pany facing  the  enemy's  front  became  a  mere  tar- 
get for  the  Russians'  machine-guns  and  was  mowed 
down  in  a  few  brief  moments.  One  bullet  went 
through  the  sword  blade  and  slightly  injured  the  left 
eye  of  Captain  Matsumaru.  Our  artillery  fire  made 
a  pyrotechnic  display  in  the  air,  but  did  hardly  any 
damage  to  the  enemy's  defensive  constructions. 


Shrapnel  was  of  no  avail :  we  had  to  explode  spheri- 
cal shells,  and  smash  the  covering  of  the  enemy's 
trenches.  "  Even  at  the  risk  of  damage  to  our  own 
infantry,  fire  spherical  shells  as  rapidly  as  possible," 
was  the  message  repeatedly  sent  to  the  artillery,  but 
no  single  orderly  came  back  alive:  all  were  killed 
before  reaching  their  destination.  The  lieutenant 
of  the  engineers  was  ordered  to  send  explosives,  but 
this  also  could  not  be  done  in  time. 

Seven  o'clock  had  passed,  eight  o'clock  too,  and 
it  was  now  nine,  but  there  was  no  improvement  in 
our  condition.  The  First  Battalion  was  obliged  to 
halt  for  a  while.  The  commander  of  the  Second 
Battalion, Major  Temai,  was  seriously  wounded;  the 
adjutant,  while  reconnoitring  a  route  for  the  assault, 
was  shot  through  the  head  and  died  as  he  turned 
and  said, "  Report ! "  The  Third  Battalion  came  close 
to  the  enemy,  but  could  do  nothing  more:  its  dead 
and  wounded  increased  moment  after  moment.  Our 
situation  was  just  like  that  of  a  small  fish  about 
to  be  swallowed  by  a  huge  whale,  —  we  could  not 
improve  it  by  our  own  efforts.  However,  such  was 
the  tenacity  of  purpose  and  invincible  courage  per- 
vading our  ranks,  that  our  determination  and  re- 
sourcefulness became  greater  as  the  enemy  proved 
more  difficult  to  subdue.  All  the  battalions,  more 
particularly  the  First,  were  now  breaking  rocks  with 
picks  and  piling  up  stones  to  make  footholds.  But 
the  work  was  not  easy,  so  near  the  enemy  that  both 

144 


parties  were  like  two  tigers  showing  their  teeth  and 
threatening  to  tear  each  other  to  pieces.  The  Rus- 
sians tried  hard  to  hinder  our  work;  the  slightest 
sound  of  a  pick  would  immediately  invite  a  tongue 
of  fire  that  licked  the  place  around  us  ravenously. 
In  the  midst  of  this  great  difficulty,  a  sort  of  foothold 
was  made  at  last,  and  now  we  were  ready  to  push  in 
with  one  accord! 

The  night  was  growing  old ;  a  dismal  waning  moon 
was  shining  dimly  over  the  battle-ground,  showing 
one  half  of  our  camp  in  a  light  black-and-white 
picture.  Major  Uchino,  commander  of  the  Second 
Battalion,  sent  the  following  message  to  our  colonel : 

"  Our  battalion  is  about  to  try  an  assault,  expect- 
ing its  own  annihilation.  I  hope  that  you  also  will 
assume  the  offensive.  I  sincerely  hope  and  believe 
that  my  most  revered  and  beloved  colonel  will  be 
the  successful  commander  of  the  attack,  and  that  by 
the  time  the  sun  rises  our  honored  regimental  flag 
may  fly  over  the  enemy's  parapets.  I  hereby  offer 
my  respects  and  farewell  to  you." 

Then  we  heard  the  solemn  tune  of  "Kimi  ga  yo" 
sounded  by  trumpets  far  away  at  the  left  wing.  The 
moon  shone  through  the  small  sky  of  our  valley,  and 
the  long-drawn  faint  echo  of  the  national  air  seemed 
to  penetrate  our  hearts.  The  music  sounded  to  us 
as  if  His  Majesty  were  ordering  us  forward  in  per- 
son. The  officers  and  men  straightened  themselves 
up,  leaped  and  bounded  with  overwhelming  courage, 

145 


all  at  once  burst  over  the  enemy's  breastworks  with 
shouts  and  yells,  braving  the  shower  of  fire  and 
clambering  over  the  rocks  and  stones.  Major  Mat- 
sumura,  at  the  head  of  the  foremost  group  of  men, 
shouted  with  stirring  and  flaming  eyes:  "Charge! 
forward ! "  The  music  swelled  still  more  inspiringly, 
and  all  the  succeeding  bands  of  men  shouted  Banzai 
with  an  earth-shaking  voice  and  encouraged  their 
onrushing  comrades.  At  the  top  of  the  hill  the  clash 
of  bayonets  scattered  sparks  —  hand-to-hand  con- 
flict at  close  quarters  was  the  last  effort,  the  impact 
of  the  human  bullets,  the  sons  of  Yamato.  "You 
haughty  land-grabbers,  see  now  the  folly  of  your 
policy,"  was  the  idea  with  which  every  man  struck 
his  blow,  the  consequence  being  a  stream  of  blood 
and  a  hill  of  corpses.  It  was  a  hard  struggle,  but 
at  the  same  time  it  was  a  great  joy  to  defeat  the 
enemy  after  repeated  failures !  Body  after  body  of 
men  rushed  in  like  waves  —  the  Russians  found  it 
altogether  too  much  for  them.  They  wavered  and 
yet  continued  for  some  time  longer  to  resist  us  in 
close  hand-to-hand  fight,  while  we  increased  in 
courage  and  strength  in  proportion  to  their  diminu- 
tion of  power.  At  last,  at  8  A.  M.  of  July  28,  when 
the  eastern  sky  was  crimson,  we  became  the  undis- 
puted masters  of  the  heights  of  Taipo-shan. 

The  imperial  colors  waved  high  above  our  new 
camp,  and  the  Banzai  of  rejoicing  arose  like  surges 
of  the  sea! 

146 


A 

THE   FIELD  AFTER    THE    BATTLE 

BEFORE  we  at  last  secured  the  enemy's  posi- 
tion along  the  heights  of  Taipo-shan,  all  of  us, 
from  the  division  commander  to  the  lowest  soldier, 
had  exerted  our  perseverance  and  bravery  to  the 
uttermost.  We  had  fought  against  an  enemy  hav- 
ing a  position  naturally  advantageous  and  strongly 
fortified;  we  had  fought  for  fifty-eight  hours  with- 
out food,  drink,  or  sleep,  against  a  desperately 
stubborn  foe.  Our  final  success  was  pregnant  of 
many  important  results  to  the  subsequent  plan  of 
campaign.  The  battle  of  Nanshan,  with  more  than 
four  thousand  casualties,  had  been  considered  the 
hardest  of  struggles  so  far;  but,  compared  with 
Taipo-shan,  Nanshan  was  won  at  a  low  cost.  At 
Nanshan  the  enemy  had  an  extended  slope  before 
them,  where  they  swept  away  our  attacking  forces 
from  a  secure  position.  The  nature  of  the  ground 
along  Taipo-shan  was  totally  different,  built  up  with 
perpendicular  hills  and  deep  valleys.  We  could  de- 
fend ourselves  in  a  dead  angle,  or  could  conceal 
and  cover  ourselves  easily.  And  yet  our  casualties 

147 


here  amounted  to  the  same  number  as  at  Nanshan. 
You  can  judge  from  this  fact  how  severe  was  the 
battle. 

For  three  days  we  contended  for  a  small  space  of 
ground;  no  food  at  all  could  be  conveyed  from  the 
rear..  We  only  munched  hard  biscuits,  our  "iron 
rations,"  could  not  dip  with  one  hand  a  drop  of  water 
to  drink,  and  did  not  sleep  even  a  moment.  But 
because  we  were  so  excited  and  anxious  and  deter- 
mined, no  thought  occurred  to  us  of  being  sleepy  or 
hungry.  The  Russians  also  were  in  a  similar  condi- 
tion. When  we  examined  their  skirmish-trenches, 
after  our  occupation  of  the  place,  we  found  them  full 
of  nastiness;  the  men  must  have  remained  there 
without  moving  one  step  for  the  long  fifty-eight 
hours.  The  only  difference  was  that  they  had  no 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  provisions,  for  our  men  were 
made  happy  with  the  black  bread,  lump-sugar,  etc., 
that  the  enemy  had  left  behind. 

The  first  thing  we  felt  when  our  work  was  done 
was  sleepiness!  We  desired  nothing  but  sleep. 
Groups  here  and  there,  talking  about  their  dead 
comrades  and  their  experiences,  soon  began  to  nod, 
one  man  after  another,  and  would  lie  down  under 
the  coverings  of  the  enemy's  trenches  in  a  most 
innocent,  childlike  manner.  The  Russian  dead 
scattered  all  about,  weltering  in  blood,  did  not  dis- 
turb their  profound  sleep.  Neither  did  they  think  of 
eating  or  drinking;  their  snores  sounded  like  dis- 
-  148 


tant  thunder.  Occasional  bullets  of  the  enemy  did 
not  disturb  them  even  as  much  as  the  humming  of 
mosquitoes.  ••*» 

The  sublimity  of  a  battle  can  only  be  seen  in  the  iA 
midst  of  showers  of  bullet  and  shell,  but  the  dismal  ' 
horror  of  it  can  best  be  observed  when  the  actual 
struggle  is  over.  The  shadow  of  impartial  Death 
visits  friend  and  foe  alike.  When  the  shocking  mas- 
sacre is  over,  countless  corpses  covered  with  blood 
lie  long  and  flat  in  the  grass  and  between  stones. 
What  a  deep  philosophy  their  cold  faces  tell !  When 
we  saw  the  dead  at  Nanshan,  we  could  not  help  cov- 
ering our  eyes  in  horror  and  disgust.  But  the  scene 
here,  though  equally  shocking,  did  not  make  us 
shudder  half  so  much.  Some  were  crushed  in  head 
and  face,  their  brains  mixing  with  dust  and  earth. 
The  intestines  of  others  were  torn  out  and  blood 
was  trickling  from  them.  The  sight  of  these  things, 
however,  did  not  horrify  us  very  much.  At  Nan- 
shan we  did  not  actually  fight,  but  only  visited  the 
scene  afterward.  This  time  we  were  accustomed  to 
these  sights  through  the  long  hours  of  suffering  and 
desperate  struggle. 

At  Nanshan,  with  the  enemy's  dead  in  front  of  us, 
we  could  not  but  sympathize  with  and  pity  them; 
but  here  we  hated  and  loathed  them.  How  were 
they  to  blame?  Were  not  they  also  warriors  who 
died  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty?  But  after  a 
hard  struggle  with  them,  in  which  we  had  had  to  sac- 

149 


rifice  the  lives  of  so  many  of  our  beloved  men,  our 
hearts  involuntarily  hated  our  opponents,  who  we 
wished  had  yielded  to  us  more  easily,  but  who  re- 
sisted us  to  their  utmost  —  and  butchered  our  men 
from  their  secure  trenches,  thrusting  out  their  guns 
from  the  holes.  Of  course  our  reason  does  not  sanc- 
tion it,  but  those  who  have  had  experience  in  actual 
fighting  will  easily  sympathize  with  this  sense  of 
hatred  and  indignation  at  the  sight  of  the  dead  of  a 
brave  but  stubborn  foe.  Of  course  it  is  a  silly  thing, 
and  we  do  all  admire  without  stint  their  valor  and 
perseverance.  Their  success  in  keeping  us  at  bay 
for  fifty-eight  hours,  under  our  overwhelming  at- 
tack, is  certainly  worthy  of  a  great  military  power. 
One  Russian  was  found  dead  in  a  skirmish-trench 
with  his  head  bandaged.  Probably  he  fought  on 
bravely  in  spite  of  his  first  wound  until  a  second  shot 
from  our  side  gave  him  his  death-blow.  Those  Rus- 
sian dead,  scattered  in  front  of  their  breastworks, 
must  have  been  the  brave  ones  who  rushed  out  of 
their  trenches  when  we  burst  in,  and  fought  us  with 
their  bayonets  and  fists.  Some  had  photographs 
of  their  wives  and  children  in  their  bosoms,  and 
these  pictures  were  bespattered  with  blood.  One  in- 
clined so  to  do  may  condemn  it  as  effeminate  and 
weak  to  carry  such  things  into  battle;  but  thousands 
of  miles  away  from  home,  at  the  dismal  and  bloody 
seat  of  war,  where  they  could  not  hear  from  their 
beloved  ones,  was  it  not  natural  for  them  to  yearn 
150 


after  them  deep  down  in  their  hearts  and  console 
themselves  with  the  sight  of  these  pictures?   It  is 
human  nature  that  every  new  landscape,  every  new 
phase  of  the  moon,  makes  one  think  of  home  and    1*1 
friends  —  and  brave  fighters  are  also  human,  are   * 
they  not? 

"The  bravest  is  the  tenderest, 
The  loving  are  the  daring." 

Are  not  these  the  poet's  words  ?  Those  poor  Rus- 
sian soldiers,  hunted  out  to  the  battle-field  by  the 
fury  of  oppression,  had  to  suffer  and  die  far  away 
from  home.  Their  situation  deserves  nothing  but 
commiseration  and  sympathy! 

As  soon  as  the  battle  was  over,  my  servant  came 
to  me  with  a  hold-all  left  by  the  Russians.  We 
opened  it  and  found  it  full  of  all  kinds  of  things,  and 
among  them  a  suit  of  Chinese  clothes.  This  latter 
item  was  a  surprise  to  us,  and  also  an  explanation. 
We  had  seen  Russian  scouts  in  Chinese  costume 
who  had  appeared  within  our  picket-line,  and  now 
at  last  we  had  found  out  their  secret.  They  were 
certainly  clever  in  the  trick  of  quickly  changing 
costume  and  character  as  if  on  the  stage.  During 
the  War  of  American  Independence,  the  English 
sentries  were  killed  almost  nightly  by  the  enemy  clad 
in  goat-skins.  Had  the  Russians  learned  the  art 
from  the  Americans?  They  tried  every  trick  in 
scouting  —  it  was  not  only  the  real  Russians  who 
undertook  this  work,  but  even  ghosts  and  appari- 


tions  were  invited  to  join.  We  found  also  Japanese 
flags  that  they  had  left ;  perhaps  they  had  even  tried 
to  deceive  us  with  our  own  colors. 

After  this  battle  we  captured  some  damaged 
machine-guns;  this  was  the  firearm  most  dreaded 
by  us.  A  large  iron  plate  serves  the  purpose  of  a 
shield,  through  which  aim  is  taken,  and  the  trigger 
can  be  pulled  while  the  gun  is  moving  upward,  down- 
ward, to  the  left,  or  to  the  right.  More  than  six 
hundred  bullets  are  pushed  out  automatically  in 
one  minute,  as  if  a  long,  continuous  rod  of  balls  was 
being  thrown  out  of  the  gun.  It  can  also  be  made 
to  sprinkle  its  shot  as  roads  are  watered  with  a  hose. 
It  can  cover  a  larger  or  smaller  space,  or  fire  to  a 
greater  or  less  distance  as  the  gunner  wills.  There- 
fore, if  one  becomes  the  target  of  this  terrible  engine 
of  destruction,  three  or  four  shot  may  go  through 
the  same  place  in  rapid  succession,  making  the 
wound  very  large.  The  bullets  are  of  the  same  size 
as  those  used  in  rifles.  A  large  number  of  these  shot 
are  inserted  in  a  long  canvas  belt  —  and  this  belt  is 
loaded  into  the  chamber  of  the  gun ;  it  works  like 
the  film  of  the  vitascope.  And  the  sound  it  makes ! 
Heard  close  by,  it  is  a  rapid  succession  of  tap,  tap, 
tap;  but  from  a  distance  it  sounds  like  a  power  loom 
heard  late  at  night  when  everything  else  is  hushed. 
It  is  a  sickening,  horrible  sound !  The  Russians  re- 
garded this  machine-gun  as  their  best  friend,  and 
certainly  it  did  very  much  as  a  means  of  defense. 


They  were  wonderfully  clever  in  the  use  of  this  ma- 
chine. They  would  wait  till  our  men  came  very  near 
them,  four  or  five  ken  only,  and  just  at  the  moment  ••T— 
when  we  proposed  to  shout  a  triumphant  Banzai, 
this  dreadful  machine  would  begin  to  sweep  over 
us  as  if  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  the  result  be- 
ing hills  and  mounds  of  dead.  After  this  battle  of 
Taipo-shan  we  discovered  in  the  enemy's  position 
the  body  of  one  soldier  called  Hyodo,  who  had  been 
one  of  the  forlorn-hope  scouts  of  the  Second  Com- 
pany. He  had  no  less  than  forty-seven  shot  in  his 
body,  twenty-five  on  the  right  arm  only.  Another 
soldier  of  a  neighboring  regiment  received  more  than 
seventy  shot.  These  instances  prove  how  destructive 
is  the  machine-gun !  Of  course,  the  surgeons  could 
not  locate  so  many  wounds  in  one  body,  and  they  in- 
vented a  new  name,  "Whole  body  honeycombed  with 
gun- wounds."  Whenever  our  army  attacked  the 
enemy's  position,  it  was  invariably  this  machine-gun 
that  made  us  suffer  and  damaged  us  most  severely. 

In  this  camp  we  found  four  or  five  of  the  enemy's 
war-dogs  dead.  They  were  strongly  built,  with  short 
brown  hair  and  sharp  clever  faces.  They  were  shot 
by  our  guns,  and,  though  brutes,  had  participated  in 
the  honorable  death  of  the  battle-field.  The  Rus- 
sians train  these  dogs  for  war  purposes  and  make 
them  useful  in  more  ways  than  one.  I  am  told  that 
sometimes  these  dogs  acted  as  scouts. 

I  carefully  inspected  the  scene  of  this  terrible 

153 


fight  and  learned  how  strong  were  both  the  natural 
position  and  the  arrangements  for  defense.  I  almost 
marveled  at  our  final  success,  even  with  a  terrible 
loss  of  life  and  blood.  Our  engineers  dug  out  a  num- 
ber of  ground-mines  and  destroyed  wire-entangle- 
ments put  up  -by  the  enemy.  The  Russian  loss  was 
also  very  severe;  a  large  number  of  their  dead  were 
left  in  the  camp  or  on  the  line  of  their  retreat — those 
whom  they  with  difficulty  picked  up,  were  piled 
upon  ten  or  more  ox-carts  and  carried  away  through 
Hanchia-tun  toward  Port  Arthur. 

Let  me  leave  the  battle-field  for  a  while  and  tell 
you  what  impression  our  army  gave  the  Russians, 
and  also  recount  the  story  of  one  or  two  valiant  sol- 
diers. After  this  battle,  our  detachment  picked  up  a 
note  written  by  the  commander  of  a  Russian  divi- 
sion. Translated,  it  is  as  follows :  — 

"The  Japanese  army  knows  how  to  march,  but 
not  how  to  retreat.  Once  they  begin  to  attack  a 
position,  they  continue  most  fiercely  and  most  obsti- 
nately. That  I  can  approve  of,  but  when  circum- 
stances do  not  permit  a  forward  march,  a  retreat 
may  sometimes  be  made  useful.  But  the  Japanese 
always  continue  an  attack  irrespective  of  the  amount 
of  danger.  Probably  the  Japanese  books  of  tactics 
make  no  study  at  all  of  retreating." 

Is  ours  a  mere  "wild-boar"  courage,  not  to  know 
how  to  retreat?  "Back-roving"  (sakaro)  was  ridi- 
culed by  the  old  warriors  of  Japan  —  our  modern 

154 


fighters  also  despise  the  idea  of  retreating.  It  may 
be  a  mistake,  but "  to  show  one's  back  to  the  enemy" 
has  always  been  considered  the  greatest  disgrace  a  ••»•• 
samurai  could  bring  upon  himself.  This  idea  is  the 
central  military  principle  of  the  people  of  Japan. 
This  note  of  the  Russian  general  is  good  testimony 
to  the  spirit  pervading  our  ranks,  "determined  to 
death  "  and  to  fight  on  with  strenuous  perseverance. 
Every  time  we  fought  we  won,  because  we  did  not 
believe  in  retreating.  The  Russians,  who  were  taught 
to  believe  that  a  retreat  may  sometimes  be  made 
useful,  and  who  often  boasted  of  their  "masterly 
retreats,"  do  not  seem  to  have  gained  many  vic- 
tories by  their  skill  in  falling  back. 

To  illustrate  the  truth  of  the  Russian  general's 
statement  as  to  the  spirit  and  determination  of  our 
men,  I  will  recount  here  one  or  two  instances.  On 
the  2yth  one  Sukeichi  Matsumoto,  assigned  to  the 
duty  of  a  scout,  braved  the  storm  of  fire  and  en- 
couraged his  comrades,  always  at  the  head  of  the 
little  group  and  pressing  on  hard.  Just  after  the 
dawn  of  that  day  he  noticed  blood  trickling  down 
his  face,  upon  which  he  cried,  "I'm  done  for!"  He 
repeated  the  exclamation  several  times  in  succession 
and  then  fell.  His  corporal  ran  to  the  spot,  raised 
him,  and  cried:  "Keep  up  your  spirits,  my  man!" 
Upon  which  Sukeichi  opened  his  eyes,  grasped 
the  corporal's  hand,  and  said,  with  a  smile:  "Why! 
I'm  all  right!  Please  march  on!"  Scarcely  had  the 

155 


words  escaped  from  his  lips  when  he  breathed 
his  last. 

There  was  a  particularly  brave  sergeant  called 
Sembain  the  Eighth  Company.  In  the  battle  of  Ken- 
zan  he  distinguished  himself  by  rushing  in  before 
others  upon  the  enemy.  He  was  used  to  march  on, 
crying  all  the  time,  "/will  avenge  you,  depend  upon 
it!"  thus  comforting  the  dying  or  wounded  who  lay 
along  his  way.  This  he  meant  as  an  eternal  farewell 
or  a  healing  word  as  the  case  might  be.  So  his  sub- 
ordinates loved  him  as  their  elder  brother  and 
thought  they  would  be  perfectly  satisfied  if  they 
could  die  with  Sergeant  Semba.  His  lieutenant  es- 
pecially loved  this  sergeant  and  believed  him  to  be 
better  than  a  hundred  ordinary  men.  For  all  diffi- 
cult duties,  he  singled  out  this  Semba,  whose  efforts 
were  usually  successful  because  of  his  composure 
and  bravery.  On  the  2yth,  when  the  desperate 
march  was  set  afoot,  the  sergeant  held  his  men 
firmly  together  and  pressed  on  headlong,  crying, 
as  usual,  "/  will  avenge  you,  depend  upon  it!"  to 
those  falling  right  and  left.  At  last  he  himself 
fell  at  the  feet  of  his  lieutenant,  who  tried  to  raise 
him  and  felt  warm  blood  running  over  his  hands. 
"I'm  done  for!"  said  the  sergeant,  faintly.  "Keep 
up  your  spirits,  Sergeant  Semba!"  The  brave  fel- 
low spat  out  the  blood  that  was  filling  his  throat  and 
with  his  eyes  full  of  tears  said:  "Lieutenant!  Port 
Arthur  —  "  Without  finishing  his  sentence  he  ex- 

156 


pired.   Did  he  mean  to  say  that  he  regretted  dying 
before  the  final  assault  on  Port  Arthur  ?   Or  did  he 
pray  with  tears  that  that  fortress  might  fall  into   —#•» 
our  hands  as  quickly  as  possible  ?  Whatever  it  might    ft 
be,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  this  true  patriot  thought 
of  nothing  but  Port  Arthur  in  the  moment  of  his 
death! 


THE   FIRST   AID   STATION 

SINCE  the  opening  of  hostilities  on  the  heights 
to  the  northeast  of  Hwangni-chuan  and  Ta- 
shang-tun,  I  had  been  too  excited  over  the  fight- 
ing to  think  of  anything  else,  but  now  I  began  to 
think  of  my  friend,  Surgeon  Yasui,  and  to  wonder 
whether  he  had  passed  through  the  struggle  in 
safety.  On  the  eve  of  the  28th,  when  threatening 
clouds  were  gathering  in  the  sky,  I  was  walking 
alone  under  the  willow  trees  along  a  small  stream 
below  Taipo-shan,  by  which  we  had  bivouacked. 
As  I  was  thinking  that  he  must  be  extremely  busy 
taking  care  of  the  wounded,  suddenly  I  heard  the 
clicking  sound  of  an  officer's  boots,  and  he  stood 
beside  me. 

"Dr.  Yasui!" 

"Lieutenant  Sakurai!" 

"Are  you  quite  well?" 

We  shook  hands  heartily  and,  after  commenting 
upon  each  other's  emaciated  appearance,  discussed 
the  severity  and  horror  of  the  recent  fight.  Captain 
Matsumaru,  who  had  been  wounded,  also  came 

158 


along,  shouldering  his  sword,  which  had  been  bent 
out  of  shape  by  the  shot  that  had  opened  a  round 
window  in  its  blade.  He  too  joined  earnestly  in  our  — 4— 
conversation  about  the  recent  battle.  From  Sur- 
geon  Yasui  we  obtained  a  minute  description  of 
the  sad  and  horrible  scenes  at  the  first  aid  station. 

During  the  battle  the  enemy's  shot  fell  constantly 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  native  dwellings,  and  in  our 
temporary  bandaging  station  the  danger  was  very 
great.  One  time  a  big  shell  came  through  the  roof 
and  exploded  in  the  courtyard,  and  a  large  number 
of  the  wounded  men  in  the  house  were  blown  to 
pieces,  the  walls  and  pillars  were  spotted  with  blood 
and  flesh ;  a  shocking  sight  it  was.  On  another  occa- 
sion, just  as  the  stretcher-bearers  had  brought  in  a 
wounded  soldier  from  the  battle-line  with  great  diffi- 
culty, and  put  him  down  in  the  yard,  an  enemy's 
shot  came  flying  and  killed  the  poor  man  on  the  spot. 
These  unfortunate  fellows  had  fought  valiantly  on 
the  battle-line,  and  had  been  picked  up  and  carried 
back  with  wounds  of  honor,  only  to  be  killed  in  such 
a  miserable  way.  The  enemy's  projectiles  followed 
our  brave  men  everywhere  and  killed  them  without 
mercy. 

The  dreary  heartrending  scene  at  the  first  aid  is 
utterly  beyond  description.  One  cannot  help  as- 
sociating it  with  the  horrors  of  hell.  As  soon  as  a 
wounded  man  is  carried  back,  be  he  officer  or  pri- 
vate, surgeons  and  hospital  orderlies  give  him  the 

159 


necessary  first  aid.  As  the  firing  on  the  battle-line 
increases  in  intensity,  the  number  of  the  wounded 
increases  faster  and  faster,  and  the  surgeons  and 
others  have  more  than  they  can  do.  While  attend- 
ing one  man,  they  notice  perhaps  that  another  man 
begins  to  breathe  hard  and  lose  his  color.  While 
giving  a  few  drops  of  brandy  to  the  second  man,  a 
third  man  may  be  expiring  without  any  medical 
aid.  Hardly  have  they  had  time  to  dress  one  man's 
wound  properly,  when  ten  or  fifteen  new  ones  are 
brought  in.  The  surgeons  are  surrounded  right  and 
left  by  fatally  wounded  men.  They  work  hard  in 
their  shirt  sleeves,  their  whole  attire  covered  with 
blood.  Some  men  are  bandaged,  and  others  with 
broken  limbs  are  helped  by  a  splint.  Of  course  all 
is  done  hurriedly  and  is  only  a  temporary  aid,  but 
they  are  kept  so  busy,  and  the  whole  scene  is  so 
sad  and  urgent,  that  they  feel  as  if  they  were  losing 
their  minds  every  moment,  so  much  have  they  on 
their  hands  and  so  little  can  they  actually  do. 

But  those  lying  in  this  house  or  that  yard  are  all 
brave  soldiers.  They  would  not  grumble  even  if 
medical  care  were  slow  in  coming,  or  insufficient 
when  it  came.  They  show  no  discontent,  they  have 
no  special  desires.  Because  the  heat  and  excitement 
of  the  battle-field  is  still  with  them,  they  want  to  rush 
to  the  first  line  once  more,  whenever  they  hear  the 
yell  of  fighters  or  the  boom  of  guns.  The  surgeons 
try  hard  to  pacify  them  and  keep  them  still.  Those 

160 


made  insane  by  wounds  in  the  head  raise  faint  cries 
of  "Tenno  Heika  Banzai"1  or  of  "Rusky,"  and 
stagger  about.  If  a  surgeon  holds  them  fast,  they 
angrily  rebuke  him,  saying,  "You  Rusky!"  The 
result  of  these  frantic  movements  is  generally  an 
abundant  loss  of  blood,  soon  followed  by  fainting 
and  death. 

On  the  27th  there  was  a  specially  large  number 
of  wounded.  The  farmyard  in  front  of  the  first 
aid  station  was  filled  with  the  suffering  from  one 
end  to  the  other.  While  a  surgeon  is  taking  care  of 
one,  some  one  behind  pulls  him  by  his  trousers.  On 
looking  back,  he  finds  a  man  leaning  against  him 
and  like  an  innocent  baby  falling  into  the  sleep  that 
knows  no  awakening.  "Mine  is  a  life  that  cannot 
be  saved,  please  kill  me  at  once."  So  shouts  a  man 
in  agony,  clutching  a  surgeon  with  both  hands.  One 
sergeant  crept  on  his  hands,  dragging  his  legs  to  the 
side  of  a  surgeon.  "  Please,  surgeon,  the  man  over 
there  is  one  of  my  company;  he  breathes  so  hard 
that  it  may  be  of  no  use,  but  please  see  him  once 
more."  This  entreaty  was  accompanied  by  tears 
of  sympathy.  This  kind  sergeant  was  seriously  in- 
jured, but  his  love  of  his  subordinate  made  him 
brave  and  gallant.  There  were  many  also  who 
themselves  were  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  and  yet 
who  insisted  on  their  comrades  being  first  attended 
to,  saying  that  they  could  well  afford  to  wait.  What 

1  "Ten  thousand  years  for  His  Majesty  the  Emperor!" 

161 


noble  self-denial!  The  brave  men,  though  panting 
and  gasping,  with  livid  faces  and  blood-covered 
bodies,  kept  the  true  spirit  of  Bushido,  which  could 
not  be  soiled  with  the  dust  of  battle,  nor  did  they 
lose  it  with  their  heart's  blood. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2jih  a  private  came 
to  the  first  aid  station  with  a  distracted,  hollow 
countenance.  A  surgeon  who  noticed  him  asked, 
"What  is  the  matter  with  you?  Wounded?"  No 
answer  came  from  him,  his  lips  moved  in  vain.  The 
surgeon  asked  again,  "  What  is  it  ?  I  cannot  know  if 
you  do  not  tell."  Still  no  answer  was  forthcoming. 
The  surgeon  thought  it  very  strange,  and  while 
gazing  at  the  man's  face  he  noticed  a  little  blood 
on  it.  On  closer  examination  it  was  found  that  this 
man  had  been  shot  through  the  temple  from  right  to 
left,  so  that  he  had  lost  both  sight  and  hearing.  No 
sooner  did  the  surgeon  discover  this  than  he  began 
to  attend  to  his  case.  But  when  he  tenderly  took 
the  poor  man's  hand,  the  soldier  grated  his  teeth 
and  muttered  "Revenge."  His  body  stiffened  very 
rapidly  and  he  soon  breathed  his  last.  Poor  brave 
fellow,  he  did  not  know  he  was  dying,  but  was  only 
anxious  to  fight  again. 

Here  is  another  case.  A  wounded  private  came 
rushing  into  the  station,  swinging  both  arms  as  if  in 
great  haste.  "  It  is  a  hot  fight,  extremely  interesting! 
We  shall  occupy  the  place  very  soon."  The  surgeon 
asked  him,  "Are  you  wounded?"  "A  little  at  the 

162 


waist,"  was  the  answer.  As  the  surgeon  was  very 
anxious  about  the  issue  of  the  day,  he  asked  the 
man :  " Have  you  killed  many  of  the  enemy?  Which  -4«- 
side  has  more  casualties?"  The  man  lowered  his     •*» 
voice  and  said,  "  Once  again,  there  are  more  casual- 
ties  on  Japan's  side." 

Then  the  surgeon  examined  his  "little  wound" 
about  the  waist  and  was  astonished  at  the  serious- 
ness of  the  case.  The  flesh  of  the  right  hip  had  been 
entirely  swept  away  by  a  shell.  He  was  so  proud  of 
his  bravery  in  action  and  faithful  discharge  of  duty, 
that  he  did  not  know  that  drop  by  drop  his  very  life 
was  ebbing  away.  He  talked  about  the  battle  cheer- 
fully and  in  high  spirits.  "All  right!  Your  bandag- 
ing is  finished.  You  may  go."  At  this  word  from  the 
surgeon  the  man  stood  on  his  legs,  but  could  not 
walk  a  step.  The  fever  of  war  makes  it  possible  for 
a  man  to  walk  and  even  run  in  such  a  condition.  But 
once  brought  in  by  the  bearers  his  nerves  relax 
and  he  begins  to  feel  the  pain  all  at  once.  There 
have  been  many  instances  of  this,  and  I  was  one  of 
the  number.  I  did  not  feel  any  pain  at  all  during  the 
two  days  I  was  lying  on  the  field,  but  oh!  the  pain  I 
began  to  feel  when  I  was  taken  to  the  first  aid  and 
bandaged;  the  agony  I  then  felt  was  so  great  that  I 
wished  I  had  died  on  the  field.  "To  come  to  life 
from  death, "  was  certainly  my  own  case,  but  I  could 
not  at  all  appreciate  my  rare  good  fortune  at  that 
time.  I  thought  that  Heaven  was  cruel  not  to  have 

163 


killed  me  at  once,  instead  of  leaving  me  to  suffer 
pain  harder  than  death  itself,  in  a  state  half  dead 
and  half  alive. 

While  the  fighting  is  yet  going  on  the  Red- Cross 
flags  here  and  there  beckon  to  those  who  are  wounded 
in  the  field.  The  brave  men  who  die  on  the  spot 
receive  no  benefit  from  the  great  charity,  but  the 
wounded  receive  and  monopolize  its  benefits,  and 
sometimes  feel  as  if  they  were  stealing  something 
from  the  worthy  dead.  As  soon  as  a  battle  begins, 
the  stretcher- carriers  go  about  the  field  with  stretch- 
ers on  their  shoulders,  pick  up  the  wounded  at  the 
front,  and  carry  them  to  the  first  aid.  These  coolies 
—  or  carriers — must  also  be  as  brave  and  earnest 
as  real  combatants,  else  they  could  not  do  their 
work  in  an  extremely  dangerous  place  and  moment. 
They  are  intrusted  with  the  philanthropic  and  peril- 
ous business  of  braving  sword  and  shot,  searching 
out  the  wounded  and  carrying  them  to  a  safe  place. 
They  must  share  their  scanty  food  and  precious  water 
with  their  patients,  and  must  take  every  possible 
care  of  them  and  comfort  and  cheer  them  with 
loving  hearts.  The  stretcher-bearer's  hard  toil  and 
noble  work  deserve  our  unbounded  gratitude. 

The  sick  and  wounded  who  are  sent  back  to  the 
hospitals  at  home  are  clad  in  white  and  given  the 
kind  and  faithful  nursing  and  comforting  of  the  sur- 
geons and  women  nurses.  I  myself  am  one  of  those 
who  received  their  care  with  tears  of  gratitude.  In  a 

164 


home  hospital  everything  is  kindness  and  sympathy, 
but  how  is  it  at  the  front  ?  In  the  summer,  when  I 
took  part  in  actual  engagements,  large  armies  of  flies  "-r* 
attacked  the  wretched  patients,  worms  would  grow  *H 
in  the  mouth  or  nose,  and  some  of  them  could  not 
drive  the  vermin  away  because  their  arms  were  use- 
less. Hospital  orderlies  would  fain  have  helped 
these  poor  sufferers,  but  their  number  was  so  small 
that  there  was  only  one  of  them  to  a  hundred  of  the 
wounded.  And  the  patients  were  exposed  to  the 
scorching  sun  in  the  day  and  to  the  rain  or  dew  of 
the  night,  without  covering.  Sometimes  the  patients, 
after  lying  long  on  the  field,  were  in  an  indescrib- 
able condition,  and  it  was  necessary  to  soak  them  in  a 
stream  and  scrub  them  with  a  broom  before  dressing 
their  wounds.  These  horrors  were  solely  due  to  an 
unexpectedly  large  number  of  casualties  produced 
by  the  unforeseen  severity  of  the  fighting.  Those  in 
charge  of  the  surgical  work  were  eager  to  take  care 
of  all  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  send  them  back  to 
be  healed  and  made  ready  to  rejoin  the  ranks  of  the 
combatants  as  soon  as  possible;  but  as  they  had  to 
crowd  more  than  a  thousand  patients  into  a  field 
hospital  provided  for  two  hundred,  they  were  power- 
less to  give  any  better  care  to  the  sufferers. 


FOLLOWING   UP   THE   VICTORY 

WHEN  the  forts  of  Taipo-shan,  made  almost 
impregnable  by  nature,  were  at  last  taken 
by  the  Japanese  forces,  the  proud  Russians  must 
have  realized  that  they  had  no  despicable  foe  in  us. 
But  because  they  had  behind  them  the  main  line  of 
defense  surrounding  the  formidable  fortress,  they 
did  not  lose  their  courage  with  two  or  three  defeats. 
So  now  they  fell  back  upon  the  Kanta-shan  Heights 
to  construct  new  works  of  defense  and  try  a  third 
stand  there.  Because  they  were  hurrying  with  this 
defensive  construction,  we  too  had  to  hurry  with 
our  attack.  One  day's  delay  on  our  part  would 
give  them  a  day's  advantage  over  us.  So  without 
waiting  to  rest  our  tired  backs  and  limbs  after  the 
long  assault,  we  began  a  sustained  pursuit  with  the 
force  of  a  tidal  wave,  with  a  view  to  driving  them  to 
the  main  fortress  while  their  defenses  were  as  yet 
inadequate. 

The  2 Qth  was  spent  in  supplying  the  deficiency 
of  ammunition,  in  the  rearrangement  of  companies 
and  ranks,  and  in  a  reconnaissance  of  the  enemy's 

166 


cavalry.   The  following  day,  the  3Oth,  was  assigned 
for  the  simultaneous  march  of  all  our  forces. 

Our  regiment  put  up  a  temporary  bivouac  in  ^^ 
the  valley  near  Hanchia-tun  on  the  29th.  About  r  |_T 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  brigade  head- 
quarters ordered  our  colonel  to  send  for  instruc- 
tions at  once.  I  was  detailed  for  this  duty  and,  ac- 
companied by  an  orderly,  ran  one  and  one  half  ri 
along  the  river  bank,  and  reached  headquarters  a 
little  before  four  o'clock.  Unless  we  ran  still  faster 
back  to  our  camp,  our  regiment  could  not  join  the 
fight  in  time.  So  I  took  off  all  my  clothing  and 
handed  it  over  to  the  orderly,  and  ran  for  one  and 
one  half  ri  perfectly  naked,  with  a  pistol  in  one  hand 
and  my  sword  in  the  other.  It  was  still  dark  and  I 
had  to  be  very  careful  not  to  go  in  the  wrong  direc- 
tion. I  ran  and  ran,  almost  breathless,  along  the 
river  bank.  On  my  way  back  I  happened  to  hear 
the  voice  of  Paymaster  Mishima,  who  was  directing 
the  conveyance  of  provisions.  Still  running,  I  shouted 
to  him:  "Paymaster  Mishima!  Provisions  are  of  no 
use.  We  march  again  at  once."  When  I  had  finished 
the  sentence  Mishima's  voice  was  heard  far  behind 
me.  Fortunately  I  did  not  lose  myself  nor  make  any 
mistake  and  reached  our  bivouac  at  ten  minutes 
before  five.  The  assembly  was  sounded  at  once  and 
the  order  to  attack  was  given.  The  orderly  to  whom 
I  intrusted  my  clothing  had  not  yet  returned.  In  the 
early  morning  of  a  summer  day  it  was  nice  and  cool 

167 


without  anything  on,  but  I  could  not  well  march  in 
that  state.  My  last  duty  was  done  satisfactorily 
without  uniform,  but  the  next  one  seemed  to  require 
it.  Another  orderly  was  dispatched  in  search  of  the 
first  one,  but  still  the  latter  was  not  forthcoming. 
The  time  had  come  for  us  to  start.  I  was  in  a  very 
awkward  plight,  when  at  the  last  moment  my  uni- 
form bearer  came,  and  I  was  saved  the  distinction 
of  a  naked  fight.  It  is  a  mere  joke  now,  but  I  was 
exceedingly  anxious  then. 

In  this  way  the  most  delightful  attack  and  advance 
was  begun  just  as  had  been  previously  planned. 
We  saw  that  it  was  to  be  a  regular  open  field  battle. 
That  is  to  say,  the  skirmishers  forming  the  first  line 
advanced  steadily,  followed  by  the  reserve  body;  all 
was  arranged  like  a  field  manoeuvre  in  time  of  peace. 
Such  a  movement  is  almost  impossible  in  an  attack 
on  a  fortress,  which  requires  a  gradual  increase  of  re- 
serves according  to  the  circumstances  of  every  hour 
and  the  condition  of  the  ground  at  each  point.  Hith- 
erto we  had  been  attacking  only  rocky,  hilly  places, 
so  that  the  only  thing  we  could  do  was  to  be  as  near 
the  enemy  as  possible,  in  order  to  seize  the  right 
opportunity  to  fall  upon  his  forces  with  one  accord. 
In  this  mode  of  attack  we  could  not  of  course  keep 
to  the  regular  formation  of  a  drill  book.  However, 
when  once  our  army  went  past  Taipo-shan,  from 
there  as  far  as  the  towering  Taku-shan  the  ground 
was  an  extensive  rolling  country;  hence  the  possi- 

168 


bility  of  our  first  open  field  battle.  Our  delight  was 
immense.  Moreover,  we  took  full  advantage  of  the 
lack  of  preparation  of  our  opponent  and  made  a 
sudden  attack.  Although  the  Russians  offered  some 
obstinate  resistance,  they  were  obliged  to  retire  step 
by  step.  Our  regiment  held  only  two  companies 
in  reserve ;  all  the  rest  were  on  the  line  of  fire,  and 
gradually  surrounded  the  enemy,  engaging  them  on 
both  wings,  with  the  result  that  when  their  centre 
was  defeated  they  were  cut  in  two  and  forced  to  re- 
treat. 

Before  reaching  our  final  position,  I  was  running 
over  a  millet  field  carrying  the  regimental  colors, 
when  I  came  across  Major  Achino.  His  sharp  eyes 
were  sparkling  like  a  hawk's,  and  he  was  standing 
on  a  rock  leaning  on  his  sword.  He  and  I  had  been 
together  at  the  headquarters  of  our  regiment  at 
home,  and  I  was  one  of  those  who  was  most  influ- 
enced by  his  character.  His  clear  views  on  tactics, 
his  spirit  of  indomitable  courage,  his  frank  but  dig- 
nified demeanor,  compelled  my  admiration.  This 
was  the  man  who  wrote  that  letter  of  farewell  to  our 
colonel  in  the  midst  of  our  attack  on  Taipo-shan, 
who  rushed  up  the  northeast  corner  of  the  hill  with 
two  companies  of  his  choicest  men  under  him,  and 
thus  opened  the  way  for  the  other  divisions  to  at- 
tack the  enemy.  I  had  not  seen  this  gallant  war- 
rior since  that  time,  and  when  I  met  him  in  the  millet 
field,  I  felt  as  if  I  actually  saw  him  fighting  in  that 

169 


brave  manner  and  could  not  repress  my  feeling 
of  admiration  and  respect.  I  called  out,  "Major 
Achino!"  and  he  gave  me  a  glance  and  a  word  of 
encouragement,  saying,  "Add  to  the  glory  of  your 
colors."  I  involuntarily  bowed  my  head  in  recogni- 
tion and  gratitude,  but  we  had  no  time  for  further 
conversation.  We  soon  lost  sight  of  each  other,  I 
marching  forward  and  thinking  fondly  of  him. 

At  this  moment  the  enemy  were  gradually  falling 
back  before  us;  eventually  they  forsook  their  last 
line  of  resistance  near  Lung-tu  and  retreated  toward 
Taku-shan.  Now  was  the  time  for  a  prolonged  pur- 
suit. It  is  a  delightful  business  to  pursue  a  flying 
enemy,  when  they  are  shot  from  behind  and  fall  like 
leaves  in  the  autumnal  wind.  Such  an  opportunity 
generally  comes  after  a  fierce  hard  struggle,  but  on 
this  particular  occasion  we  had  only  about  thirty 
casualties  during  the  day.  Such  a  pleasant  chase 
after  such  an  easy  battle  was  something  we  might 
never  expect  to  have  again. 

At  noon  of  this  day  our  army  was  in  complete  pos- 
session of  the  position  we  had  had  in  view,  and  our 
line  extended  from  the  heights  of  T'ucheng-tsu  in  the 
north  to  the  eastern  heights  of  Taku-shan  in  the 
south.  Standing  on  this  newly  acquired  line  with 
field- glass  in  hand,  what  a  prospect  greeted  our  eyes! 

Here  for  the  first  time  we  could  see  the  main  de- 
fense line  of  the  impregnable  fortress  of  Port  Arthur. 
Beginning  with  Kikuan-shan  in  the  south,  as  far 

170 


north  as  the  eye  could  reach  forts  and  trenches  were 
visible  all  over  the  country.  From  among  them  some 
horrible-looking  things  were  thrusting  up  their  heads  HH 
like  tigers  and  leopards  ready  to  spring;  these  were  _L- 
the  heavy  guns.  Here,  there,  and  everywhere,  eight- 
to  ten-fold  wires  were  clustered  together,  dimly  visi- 
ble through  the  mist ;  these  were  wire-entanglements. 
The  enemy's  sentinels,  or  "far-looking  scouts," 
could  also  be  seen  at  different  points.  Men  in  groups 
of  twenty  or  thirty  were  setting  up  wire-entangle- 
ments. This  was  the  stage  where  we  were  to  decide 
the  points  at  issue,  the  stage  on  which  the  eyes  of 
the  world  were  fixed  and  which  we  actors  could  not 
forget  even  in  sleep.  Those  who  died  prematurely, 
crying,"  Port  Arthur  "  or  "  Revenge,"  how  boundless 
their  joy  would  have  been  if  they  had  survived  to  see 
this  heart-stirring  prospect!  From  this  day  on  we 
were  stationed  in  the  vicinity  of  Lung-tu  and  began 
to  construct  strong  works  along  the  heights  of  Kanta- 
shan,  with  a  view  to  first  storming  and  taking  Taku- 
shan  and  Hsiaoku-shan  in  front  of  the  enemy's  right 
wing,  and  then  with  these  two  hills  as  our  base  of 
attack  to  beginning  an  assault  on  their  main  line  of 
defense. 

I  must  say  here  with  great  respect  that  the  Field- 
Marshal  Commander-in-chief  sent  us  the  follow- 
ing Imperial  message  with  regard  to  the  battle  of  the 
26th~3oth  of  July,  which  even  his  humblest  servant, 
like  myself,  had  the  honor  of  perusing:  "The  in- 

171 


vesting  army  having  repeatedly  braved  the  natural 
advantages  of  the  advance  positions  of  the  fortress 
of  Port  Arthur,  and  having  fought  an  arduous  fight 
for  several  days,  and  having  at  last  driven  the  enemy 
within  their  main  line  of  defense,  we  are  deeply 
gratified  with  your  valor." 

The  commander  sent  His  Majesty  the  following 
reply:  "Your  Majesty  has  graciously  given  us  a 
special  message  in  regard  to  our  victory  in  the  battle 
preparatory  to  the  attack  on  the  fortress  of  Port 
Arthur,  and  we  are  deeply  affected.  We  Your  Ma- 
jesty's servants  expect  to  exert  ourselves  still  more 
zealously  and  accomplish  the  object  of  our  army 
without  failure.  Respectfully  submitted." 

H.  I.  M.  the  Empress  also  sent  us  the  following 
message:  "Her  Majesty  the  Empress  has  heard  that 
the  investing  army  has  braved  the  dangers  of  Port 
Arthur  Fortress  and  that  an  arduous  attack  has 
been  successful  after  some  days'  continuance,  and 
Her  Majesty  is  deeply  struck  with  the  loyalty  and 
valor  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  army." 

Our  commander  made  reply  also  to  this  gracious 
message. 

Since  we,  then,  humble  subjects  without  any  spe- 
cial merit  were  thus  recognized  and  encouraged  by 
Their  Majesties,  how  could  we  set  at  ease  Their 
Majesties'  revered  hearts?  It  is  hard  to  return 
even  one  thousandth  part  of  their  favor;  a  hot  fight 
of  a  few  days  is  nothing  for  us.  These  Imperial 

172 


messages  simply  put  us  to  shame  and  caused  us  to 
fear  lest  we  might  fail  to  deserve  Their  Majesties' 
boundless  love  and  indulgence.  The  spirits  of  those  *""*r 
loyal  and  brave  ones  who  died  in  battle  must  have     1 
shed  tears  of  gratitude  on  hearing  these  gracious 
messages. 

After  the  Imperial  messages  came  all  were  stirred, 
and  the  morale  of  the  whole  army  became  still  more 
satisfactory.  Steep  hills  and  strong  forts  before  us, 
and  the  gallant  enemy  defending  them,  must  all 
yield  to  faithful  subjects  who  are  so  anxious  to  set 
at  ease  Their  Majesties'  troubled  hearts  1 


THE   STORMING   OF   TAKU-SHAN 

UPON  the  seacoast  east  of  the  great  fortress 
there  is  a  rugged  mountain  towering  high 
with  almost  perpendicular  sides,  its  beetling  rocks 
and  crags  spotted  here  and  there  with  dwarf  trees. 
The  whole  looks,  from  a  distance,  like  an  old  tiger 
squatting  on  a  hill.  This  is  Taku-shan,  or  the  Great 
Orphan.  Hsiaoku-shan,  or  the  Little  Orphan,  lies 
to  the  south,  and  on  the  opposite  side,  at  the  foot  of 
Laolutszu.  Taku-shan  is  a  solitary  peak  188  metres 
in  height;  its  southwestern  side  looks  down  into 
the  fortress  of  Port  Arthur,  and  its  northwestern 
side  overlooked  the  inside  of  the  line  of  investment 
formed  by  our  left  and  central  columns.  Our  works 
of  investment,  the  movements  of  every  division,  and 
the  position  of  our  artillery  were  plainly  visible  from 
there.  The  side  facing  our  army  was  particularly 
steep  and  precipitous,  almost  impossible  to  climb.  It 
was  as  bad  as  Kenzan  and  Taipo-shan.  While  these 
two  hills  allowed  the  enemy  to  look  into  our  posi- 
tion, they  could  not  help  becoming  the  mark  and 
target  for  our  fire.  The  commanding  general  of 


our  division  made  the  following  remark  about 
them:  — 

"The  Great  and  Little  Orphans  may  be  likened 
to  the  meat  between  the  ribs  of  a  chicken,  which  is 
hard  to  get  and  yet  we  are  reluctant  to  throw  it 
away.1  As  long  as  these  hills  are  left  in  the  enemy's 
hands,  we  are  sure  to  be  overlooked  and  shot  from 
them,  even  though  after  we  have  taken  them  our- 
selves we  cannot  help  becoming  a  target  for  the 
enemy." 

Such  a  naturally  protected  position  is  extremely 
hard  to  take,  and  harder  to  keep,  even  when  we  have 
succeeded  in  taking  it  after  untold  struggles,  be- 
cause it  will  be  fired  at  by  all  the  neighboring  forts 
as  a  convenient  object.  Therefore,  in  spite  of  the 
unanimous  conclusion  of  the  staff  that  the  place 
must  be  taken  from  geographic  and  strategic  neces- 
sity, we  waited  for  the  proper  opportunity  without 
firing  a  shot,  though  the  enemy  fired  at  us  inces- 
santly; and  we  hurried  on  our  preparations  for  the 
close  investment. 

The  yth  of  August  was  finally  fixed  for  our  march 
and  attack.  Our  field-artillery  and  siege-artillery, 
with  shrapnels  and  mortars,  had  already  taken 
their  position  in  great  secrecy.  At  4  P.  M.  all  the 
guns  simultaneously  opened  fire,  and  directed  it  to 
the  sky-line  of  both  Orphans. 

The  boom  and  roar  rent  the  air  and  white  smoke 

'  A  Chinese  expression. 

175 


shut  out  the  sky,  and  not  only  the  forts  on  both  Or- 
phans, but  also  those  on  Panlung,  Kikuan-shan, 
and  Laoliitszu  in  the  rear  responded  to  our  fire  at 
once.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  the  whole  coun- 
try was  covered  with  smoke,  and  the  tremendous 
noise  of  a  hundred  thunders  at  the  same  time  went 
ceaselessly  through  the  gloomy  sky,  which  threatened 
rain  at  any  moment.  Whenever  one  of  our  shells 
struck  a  rock  on  Taku-shan,  light  yellowish- white 
sparks  and  fragments  of  rock  flew  far  and  wide  — 
truly  it  was  one  of  the  sublimest  sights  of  war.  The 
enemy's  artillery  was  superior  in  strength  and  they 
had  the  great  advantage  of  overlooking  us,  hence 
our  artillery  labored  under  great  difficulty  and  disad- 
vantage and  suffered  damage  of  great  magnitude. 
But  the  enemy's  artillery  seemed  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  our  shrapnel  guns  and  mortars  were  posted  in 
the  valley;  they  merely  concentrated  their  fire  on  the 
artillery  belonging  to  the  columns,  and  on  our  in- 
fantry. Thus  our  big  guns  remained  entirely  free 
from  damage,  and  toward  sunset  their  effect  on  the 
enemy  became  more  apparent,  so  that  the  Russian 
guns  on  Taku-shan  seemed  more  or  less  silenced. 
At  4  P.  M.  our  regiment  left  its  place  of  bivouac 
and  began  to  march,  with  a  view  to  crossing  the 
river  Taiko  and  attacking  the  enemy  as  soon  as 
our  guns  should  open  a  proper  opportunity  for  such 
an  assault. 

Before  proceeding  to  describe  this  fierce  struggle, 

176 


let  me  tell  you  what  I  had  thought  and  done  just 
before  it.  This  experience  was  not  mine  only,  but 
rather  common  to  all  fighters  before  a  decisive  battle, 
You  will  understand  by  this  story  one  of  the  weak- 
nesses  of  soldiers.  During  the  three  months  since 
I  had  first  stepped  on  the  soil  of  Liaotung,  I,  hum- 
ble and  insignificant  as  I  was,  had  borne  the  grave 
responsibility  of  carrying  the  regimental  colors  re- 
presenting the  person  of  His  Majesty  himself,  and 
had  already  gone  through  three  battles — on  Kenzan, 
Taipo-shan,  and  Kanta-shan.  Fortunately  or  un- 
fortunately, I  had  not  had  a  scratch  as  yet,  while  a 
large  number  of  brave  men  had  fallen  under  the 
standard,  and  the  standard  itself  had  been  torn  by 
the  enemy's  shell.  When  the  regimental  flag  was 
damaged,  a  soldier  quite  close  by  me  was  killed  and 
yet  I  remained  unhurt.  However,  the  rumors  of  my 
death  had  repeatedly  reached  home  by  this  time, 
and  a  false  story  of  my  being  wounded  had  appeared 
in  the  newspapers.  I  had  heard  of  all  this  while  at 
the  front.  One  of  these  rumors  said  that  at  the  time 
of  our  landing  the  storm  was  so  violent  that  my  sam- 
pan was  upset  and  I  was  swallowed  by  big  waves, 
and  that,  though  I  swam  for  several  cho  1  with  the 
regimental  flag  in  my  mouth,  I  was  at  last  buried 
in  the  sea  by  the  angry  billows.  Another  rumor  re- 
ported that  I  had  encountered  the  enemy  soon  after 
landing  and  was  killed,  together  with  the  captain  of 

1  One  cho  equals  .07  of  a  mile. 

177 


our  First  Company.  All  these  mistaken  reports  had 
already  made  me  a  hero,  and  later  I  was  frequently 
reported  to  have  been  wounded,  with  wonderful  de- 
tails accompanying  each  story.  But  when  I  exam- 
ined myself  I  felt  that  I  had  no  merit,  neither  the 
slightest  wound  upon  my  body.  I  could  not  help 
being  ashamed  of  myself,  and  thought  I  was  un- 
worthy the  great  expectations  of  my  friends.  This 
idea  made  me  miserable.  So  therefore  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  fight  desperately  and  sacrifice  my  life  at 
this  battle  of  Taku-shan.  A  few  days  before  the  at- 
tack began,  I  told  my  servant  that  I  was  fully  deter- 
mined to  die  this  time;  that  I  did  not  know  how  to 
thank  him  for  all  his  great  goodness  to  me,  and 
asked  him  to  consider  the  assurance  of  my  death  as 
my  only  memento  of  my  gratitude  to  him  —  I  also 
asked  him  to  fight  valiantly.  My  servant,  his  eyes 
dim  with  tears,  said  that  if  his  lieutenant  died  he 
would  die  with  him.  I  told  him  that  I  would  prepare 
a  box  for  my  ashes,  but  that,  if  I  should  be  so  beauti- 
fully killed  as  to  leave  no  bones,  he  was  to  send  home 
some  of  my  hair.  Then  I  went  on  to  make  a  box  of 
fragments  of  planks  that  had  been  used  for  packing 
big  shells;  they  were  fastened  together  with  bamboo 
nails  made  by  my  servant.  A  clumsy  box  of  about 
three  inches  square  was  thus  prepared,  in  which  I 
placed  a  lock  of  my  hair,  as  well  as  sheets  of  paper 
for  wrapping  up  my  ashes;  on  the  lid  of  the  box  I 
wrote  my  name  and  my  posthumous  Buddhistic 
178 


name  as  well.  My  coffin  being  thus  ready,  the  only 
thing  remaining  for  me  to  do  was  to  exert  myself 
to  the  very  last,  to  repay  the  favor  of  the  Emperor 
and  of  the  country  with  my  own  life.  But,  after  all, 
this  box  has  not  borne  the  distinction  of  carrying 
my  remains.  Alas !  it  is  now  a  mere  laughing-stock 
for  myself  and  my  friends. 

That  evening  I  wrote  a  letter  to  my  elder  brother 
in  Tokyo  and  reported  to  him  the  recent  events  in 
the  struggle,  and  told  him  that  our  attack  was  to 
begin  on  the  morrow;  that  I  was  ready  and  deter- 
mined to  die;  that  though  my  body  be  lost  at  Port 
Arthur,  my  spirit  would  not  forget  loyalty  to  the 
Emperor  for  seven  lives.  Of  course  this  was  meant 
as  my  eternal  farewell.  On  the  same  day  I  received 
a  letter  from  that  brother,  in  which  I  found  the  fol- 
lowing passages  of  admonition :  — 

"Think  not  of  honor  or  of  merit  —  only  be  faith- 
ful to  thy  duty." 

"When  Nelson  died  a  glorious  death  in  the  sea- 
fight  of  Trafalgar,  he  said,  'Thank  God,  I  have 
done  my  duty.' ' 

On  the  eve  of  this  great  battle  I  received  these 
words  of  encouragement  and  instruction,  which 
made  my  heart  still  braver  and  my  determination 
still  firmer. 

At  5  P.  M.  on  the  yth  of  August,  a  great  down- 
pour of  rain  mingled  with  the  thunder  of  cannon, 
and  the  afternoon  sky  became  utterly  dark,  dismal, 

179 


and  dreary.  We  were  halted  on  an  eminence  over 
the  river  Taiko,  waiting  anxiously  for  the  command 
"Forward!"  The  rain  became  heavier  and  the  sky 
darker.  The  Russian  search-light,  falling  on  one 
side  of  the  hills  and  valleys,  occasionally  threw  a 
whitish-blue  light  over  the  scene  and  impeded  the 
march  of  our  infantry.  The  plunging  fire  of  the 
enemy  became  more  and  more  violent  as  time  went 
on.  It  made  a  strange  noise,  mingled  with  the  tre- 
mendous downpour  of  rain.  Lieutenant  Hayashi 
and  myself  under  one  overcoat  would  exchange 
words  now  and  then. 

"We  may  separate  at  any  moment,"  was  Hay- 
ashi's  abrupt  remark,  as  if  he  were  thinking  of  his 
death. 

"I  also  am  determined  to  die  to-night,"  was  my 
response.  Whereupon  Hayashi  said:  — 

"What  a  long  time  we  have  been  together!" 

We  had  no  more  chance  to  continue  this  conversa- 
tion, but  had  to  separate.  We  had  been  comrades 
through  the  campaign,  and  while  at  home  had  been 
messmates  for  a  long  time.  It  was  this  Lieutenant 
Hayashi  who,  at  the  last  rush  upon  Taipo-shan, 
achieved  the  first  entry  within  the  enemy's  ramparts 
brandishing  his  sword.  This  hurried  farewell  was 
indeed  our  last  —  our  hand-shaking  an  eternal 
good-by. 

As  was  said  before,  our  artillery  fire  began  to  take 
effect  toward  evening.  Whereupon  our  detachment 

180 


began  to  advance  as  had  been  previously  planned. 
The  rain  fell  more  and  more  heavily,  and  the  nar- 
row paths  became  mud-holes.  We  marched  with  •••• 
great  difficulty  knee-deep  in  water  and  mud.  The  *| 
enemy's  battery  on  Taku-shan  was  not  silenced  or  ^^ 
weakened  as  we  had  supposed.  As  soon  as  they  dis- 
covered us  marching  through  the  rain  and  smoke, 
they  resumed  their  firing  with  fresh  vigor.  When 
we  reached  the  river,  the  muddy  water  was  over- 
running its  banks,  and  we  did  not  know  how  deep 
it  was.  The  enemy,  taking  advantage  of  the  heavy 
rain,  had  dammed  the  stream  below,  and  was  trying 
to  impede  our  march  by  this  inundation.  However 
brave  we  might  be,  we  could  not  help  hesitating  be- 
fore this  unexpected  ally  of  the  Russians.  Should 
we  brave  the  water,  we  might  merely  drown,  in- 
stead of  dying  by  the  enemy's  projectiles.  But  be- 
hold! a  forlorn  hope  of  our  engineers  jumped  into 
the  dark  flood  and  broke  the  dam;  very  soon  the 
water  subsided  and  the  infantry  could  cross  the 
river.  Our  whole  force  jumped  into  the  water  and 
waded.  Instead  of  being  drowned,  many  were 
killed  in  the  stream  by  'the  enemy's  fire ;  their 
dead  bodies  were  strewn  so  thick  that  they  formed 
almost  a  bridge  across  the  river. 

At  last  we  reached  the  foot  of  Taku-shan,  but 
we  had  then  to  break  the  wire- entanglements  and 
run  the  risk  of  stepping  on  mines.  One  danger  over, 
others  were  awaiting  us!  This  was  not,  however, 

181 


the  time  or  place  to  hesitate;  we  began  to  clamber 
over  rocks  and  scale  precipices.  Pitch  darkness  and 
violent  rain  increased  our  difficulties.  The  pouring 
rain  and  the  crossing  of  the  river  had  wet  us  through 
and  through,  yet  we  could  not  exercise  our  muscles 
freely  to  promote  the  circulation  of  blood.  More- 
over, as  we  came  nearer  and  nearer  the  Russian 
trenches,  they  poured  shrapnel  bullets  upon  our 
heads,  or  hurled  stones  and  beams  upon  us,  so  that 
the  difficulty  of  pushing  forward  was  very  great. 
A  neighboring  detachment  had  already  approached 
the  skirmish-trenches  which  formed  a  horseshoe 
half-way  up  on  the  side  of  the  mountain.  Mean- 
while our  detachment  was  busy  making  firm  foot- 
holds in  the  rocks  on  the  mountain-side,  preparing 
for  an  early  opportunity  of  trying  a  night  assault. 
But  the  enemy  with  search-light  and  star-shells 
worked  so  hard  to  impede  progress,  that  the  night 
surprise  was  given  up  as  an  impossibility.  Accord- 
ingly we  planned  an  attack  at  early  dawn  instead; 
we  had  now  to  wait,  facing  each  other  and  the  enemy, 
exposed  to  the  rain,  which  continued  to  fall  without 
intermission. 

When  the  eastern  sky  began  to  lighten,  the  rain 
was  still  falling.  The  bodies  of  our  comrades  scattered 
along  the  river  Taiko  could  not  be  picked  up,  nor 
could  an  orderly  reach  the  other  side  of  the  stream, 
because  we  were  right  under  the  enemy's  eyes.  In 
spite  of  this,  orderlies  were  dispatched,  but  were  shot 

182 


down  without  a  single  exception.  Such  a  horrible 
scene !  Such  a  disappointing  result !  No  one  had  any 
plan  to  propose,  and  we  did  not  know  when  and  how  •—• 
the  object  of  storming  the  enemy  could  be  accom-  ""r* 
plished.  Sergeant-Major  lino,  who  was  shot  through  ^™ • 
the  abdomen  and  lying  flat  in  agony  at  the  foot  of 
Taku-shan,  was  at  this  moment  begging  every 
orderly  that  passed  by  to  kill  him  and  relieve  his 
suffering.  How  could  we  defeat  the  enemy  and  care 
for  the  dead  and  wounded?  Our  minds  ran  right 
and  left,  but  still  no  desirable  opportunity  offered 
itself.  On  the  top  of  all  this,  eleven  ships  of  the  Rus- 
sian fleet,  including  the  Novic,  made  their  appear- 
ance near  Yenchang  and  began  bombarding  our 
infantry  marching  toward  the  Taku  and  Hsiaoku- 
shan  from  the  rear.  There  was  nothing  to  shield  us ; 
we  became  a  certain  target  for  the  enemy's  fire,  and 
were  killed  and  wounded  at  their  will.  We  were  thus 
reduced  to  a  state  of  uttermost  desperation,  as  if  a 
wolf  had  attacked  us  at  the  back  gate  while  we  were 
defending  the  front  gate  against  a  tiger.  But,  after 
all,  how  did  we  capture  this  Taiku-shan  ? 


SUN   FLAG   ON   TAKU-SHAN 

THE  powder-smoke  covering  the  whole  scene 
was  like  surging  waves,  and  the  dark  shower 
of  rain  may  be  likened  to  angry  lions.  Above  us  the 
steep  mountain  stood  high,  kissing  the  heavens  — 
even  monkeys  could  hardly  climb  it.  Each  step  up- 
ward presented  a  still  steeper  place  —  one  precipice 
climbed  brought  us  to  another  still  harder.  And 
the  fierce  Russian  eagle  threatened  us  from  the  top 
of  this  formidable  height.  All  our  fire  from  every 
direction  was  being  concentrated  upon  the  enemy's 
position  on  Taku-shan.  To  respond  to  this  attack, 
the  Russian  big  guns  were  putting  out  red  tongues 
at  us  in  front,  and  from  behind  their  war-ships  were 
coming  to  shatter  our  backs.  The  enemy,  with  this 
natural  advantage  and  with  this  strong  defensive 
array,  was  not  easy  to  defeat.  But  if  we  failed  to 
take  this  place,  not  only  would  our  whole  army 
be  checked  here  and  be  unable  to  assault  the  great 
fortress,  but  also  we  should  be  without  any  base  for 
investing  Port  Arthur.  Hence  the  urgent  necessity 
184 


of  storming  the  enemy  irrespective  of  any  amount 
of  sacrifice  and  difficulty. 

Our  regiment  spent  that  night  and  morning  on  the  »— 
hillside,  exposed  to  heavy  rain  and  strong  fire.  But  "-T— 
at  about  3  p.  M.   the  right  opportunity  for  us  to   ""^ 
attack  the  enemy  offered  itself.  Our  siege-gunners 
had  so  successfully  bombarded  the  enemy's  ships 
that  they  were  obliged  to  retreat  for  a  while,  and 
gave  us  more  freedom  of  action.  When  this  oppor- 
tunity came,  the  brigadier-general  gave  us  the  fol- 
lowing order:  "The  left  wing  is  now  to  storm  Taku- 
shan,  and  your  regiment,  in  connection  with  the 
left  wing,  is  to  attack  the  northern  slope." 

At  the  same  time  we  received  the  following  inti- 
mation from  the  commander  of  the  left  wing:  "Our 
regiment  is  now  starting  for  an  assault  irrespective 
of  damage  —  I  hope  that  your  regiment  also  will 
join  in  this  memorable  assault  and  occupy  Taku- 
shan  with  us." 

As  soon  as  this  order  was  made  public,  both  wings 
started  at  the  same  time.  All  of  us  braved  the  anger 
and  fury  of  the  king  of  hell,  braved  the  natural 
steepness  and  formidable  fire,  and  attacked  and 
pressed  upward  with  strength  and  courage  as  of  the 
gods.  The  shriek  and  yell  of  men,  the  boom  and 
roar  of  guns,  the  gleam  of  bayonets  and  swords,  the 
flying  of  dust,  the  flowing  of  blood,  the  smashing  of 
brains  and  bowels  —  a  grand  confusion  and  a  tre- 
mendous hand-to-hand  fight!  The  enemy  rolled 

185 


down  huge  stones  from  the  top,  and  many  an  unfor- 
tunate was  thrown  into  the  deep  valley  or  crushed 
against  the  rocks.  Shrieks  of  pain  and  yells  of  anger 
made  the  whole  scene  more  like  hell  than  like  this 
world.  The  heavy  batteries  of  Kikuan-shan  and 
Erhlung-shan  were  well  aimed  and  their  shells  ex- 
ploded right  over  the  top  of  Taku-shan,  while  fiery 
bundles  of  spherical  shells  and  fougasse  presented 
long  lines  of  bright  light  crossing  and  intersecting 
from  all  directions.  Presently  a  great  shout  of  Ban- 
zai shook  the  whole  mountain,  rising  from  top  and 
foot  simultaneously.  What  ?  What  had  happened  ? 
Behold,  a  flag  is  waving  in  the  dark  clouds  of  smoke ! 
Is  it  not  our  dear  Rising  Sun?  Our  assault  has 
succeeded !  Our  standard  is  already  unfurled  on  the 
top  of  the  hill !  We  saw  this  and  we  cried  for  joy. 

Taku-shan,  enshrouded  in  its  light  gray  dress  of 
smoke,  was  now  ours.  But  as  soon  as  it  came  into 
our  possession,  all  the  fortresses  of  the  enemy  began 
concentrating  their  fire  upon  our  main  position  on 
this  mountain.  Heavy-gun  shells,  as  big  as  a  com- 
mon water  jar,1  came  whizzing  like  locomotives, 
causing  heavy  vibrations  in  the  air.  When  they  ex- 
ploded with  a  tremendous  noise,  a  miraculous  light 
glittered  where  the  white  smoke  rose,  and  rocks 
were  shattered  where  the  dark  cloud  hung.  It 

1  The  large  earthenware  jar,  or  reservoir,  used  for  holding  the 
water  supply  of  a  Japanese  kitchen.  They  vary  in  size,  but  the 
smallest  will  hold  several  gallons. 

186 


seemed  as  if  the  very  centre  of  the  earth  were 
shaken,  and  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  cut  into 
small  fragments.  Our  position  was  far  from  safe. 
Our  detachments  occupying  the  new  place  could 
hardly  keep  their  post.  If  the  enemy  should  try  a 
counter- assault,  as  they  were  sure  to,  how  could  we 
keep  them  in  check  on  such  a  perilous  mountain- top  ? 
If  we  even  stretched  our  necks  to  look  across  the 
slopes  into  the  enemy's  defenses,  we  were  sure  to 
be  visited  by  their  fire  at  once.  We  could  not  move 
a  step.  One  soldier,  who  was  on  guard  over  six 
field-guns  captured  on  the  top,  was  hit  by  a  whole 
shell  and  literally  shattered  to  bits.  One  piece  of 
his  flesh,  which  flew  above  our  heads  and  stuck  to  a 
rock  behind  us,  was  all  that  was  left  of  him.  Another 
shell  fell  into  a  group  of  soldiers,  and  twenty-six 
men  became  small  dust  in  one  minute;  the  rock 
that  was  shattered  by  this  shell  buried  alive  three 
more. 

Lieutenant  Kunio  Segawa  was  shot  through 
the  abdomen  on  this  day;  toward  evening  his  end 
seemed  near.  His  servant  and  others  were  nursing 
him,  when  his  elder  brother,  Captain  Segawa,  who 
knew  nothing  of  his  wound,  happened  to  come 
along  and  was  asked  to  give  his  dying  brother  the 
farewell  drink  of  water.  Whereupon  the  captain 
quickly  came  near  to  his  brother  and  shouted, 
"Kunio!"  As  soon  as  the  dying  man  heard  his 
dear  brother's  voice,  as  if  he  had  been  thinking 

187 


of  him  and  longing  to  see  him,  he  opened  his  dim 
eyes  in  the  midst  of  his  hard  breathing,  gazed  on 
his  brother's  face,  grasped  his  hand  firmly  with 
tears,  and  for  a  while  both  were  silent  with  emo- 
tion. The  captain  said  presently:  "Kunio,  you 
have  done  well !  Have  you  anything  to  say  ?  "  and  he 
wiped  his  dying  brother's  face  and  poured  water 
into  his  mouth  from  his  water  bottle.  The  younger 
brother  faintly  nodded  and  said,  "Dear  elder 
brother!"  1 

That  was  his  last  word,  and  soon  he  started  for 
another  world.  What  was  the  grief  of  the  surviving 
brother  then!  The  bystanders  could  not  repress 
tears  of  sympathy  for  both.  Two  weeks  later,  in 
the  battle  of  August  24,  the  captain  followed  his 
beloved  brother  and  joined  the  ranks  of  those  who 
were  not. 

Taku-shan,  the  keystone  to  their  main  line  of 
defense,  being  now  wrested  from  their  hands,  the 
Russians  must  have  been  very  indignant  and  greatly 
disappointed.  As  was  expected,  they  tried  counter- 
attacks over  and  over  again  with  a  view  to  retak- 
ing Taku-shan,  but  each  time  we  repulsed  them 
and  reduced  them  to  deeper  disappointment.  A 

1  The  distinction  between  elder  and  younger  brother  is  so 
great  in  the  Japanese  mind  that  there  is  no  common  word  for 
the  relationships,  but  ani,  elder  brother,  and  ototo,  younger 
brother,  are  as  distinct  as  brother  and  sister  with  us.  Ani  in 
address  is  softened  to  "Nil  San." 

188 


few  days  after  the  occupation  of  Taku-shan,  one 
of  the  sentinels  stationed  at  the  top  of  the  mountain 
was  unexpectedly  shot  and  killed  at  early  dawn  by  *— • 
a  Russian  scout.  Ready  to  encounter  the  enemy,  the  "T«" 
Second  Company  ran  up  to  the  top,  where  they  saw,  "•^ 
only  ten  or  fifteen  feet  below  them,  some  Russian 
officers  at  the  head  of  over  seventy  men  brandish- 
ing their  swords  and  hurrying  up  the  mountain. 
Without  a  moment's  hesitation,  a  fierce  rifle  fire 
was  directed  at  the  enemy,  who  seemed  startled 
by  this  unexpected  reception  and,  turning,  took  to 
their  heels  and  ran  away,  almost  rolling  and  tum- 
bling in  their  haste.  Our  company  took  this  good 
opportunity  and  shot  them  right  away.  What  a 
splendid  result!  Not  one  of  them  was  left  alive! 
Their  bodies  made  dark  spots  scattered  over  the 
mountain-side.  At  that  very  moment  a  large  de- 
tachment of  the  enemy  was  stationed  as  a  reinforce- 
ment at  the  point  where  the  roads  branch  toward 
Hsaioku-shan  and  toward  our  position  on  Taku- 
shan.  Their  plan  was  probably  this:  an  advance 
detachment  was  sent  to  both  mountains,  and  this 
reinforcing  body  was  to  hurry  to  whichever  hill 
should  offer  the  better  opportunity  for  a  counter- 
attack. Such  a  half-hearted,  uncertain  policy  can 
never  succeed. 

However,  as  has  been  repeatedly  remarked,  the 
stubborn  pertinacity  of  the  Russians  was  something 
that  surprised  us.  When  any  position  is  attacked, 

189 


the  loss  of  one  part  of  it  may  necessitate  the  retreat 
of  its  defenders  in  another  part,  with  the  alterna- 
tives of  annihilation  or  of  being  made  captives :  in 
such  a  case,  the  Russian  soldiers  will  not  vacate  the 
spot,  but  stick  firmly  to  it  until  they  are  killed.  Even 
when  they  are  reduced  to  one  single  man,  that  one 
man  will  still  continue  shooting;  if  we  go  near  him, 
he  will  fix  his  bayonet  and  fight  on  obstinately  until 
finally  an  idea  of  surrender  suggests  itself  to  his 
mind.  Such  things  happened  frequently  at  Kenzan, 
at  Taipo-shan,  and  at  Taku-shan.  I  am  told  that 
after  the  battle  of  Nanshan,  mysterious  shot  came 
flying,  whence  no  one  knew,  and  killed  or  wounded 
more  than  ten  of  our  men.  After  long  search  it  was 
found  that  a  Russian  soldier  was  hiding  himself 
in  a  kitchen  and  shooting  us  from  the  window 
eagerly  and  fearlessly.  Whenever  we  asked  Rus- 
sian captives  why  they  resisted  us  so  stubbornly, 
they  were  sure  to  answer:  "We  could  not  disobey 
the  officer's  command."  We  had  heard  of  the  ab- 
solute, obsequious  obedience  of  the  Russian  sol- 
diers, and  here  on  the  real  battle-field  we  found 
that  it  was  true  and  that  they  were  faithful  to  their 
duty  unto  death.  This  perhaps  comes  from  the 
fact  that  the  old  relation  between  the  nobility  and 
serfs  in  the  Middle  Ages  is  now  kept  up  between 
Russian  officers  and  men.  This  Russian  spirit  of 
obedience  is  totally  different  in  origin  from  the  un- 
feigned harmony  and  friendliness  and  the  sincere, 
190 


voluntary  obedience  obtaining  through  all  the  ranks 
of  the  Japanese  Army.  An  English  officer,  who 
spent  several  months  in  Manchuria  with  the  Jap-  ~— 
anese  Army,  remarked  that  the  strongest  charac-  — *•» 
teristic  and  the  most  attractive  thing  about  it  was  ••"_ 
the  friendly  harmony  prevailing  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom,  the  like  of  which  could  not  be  found 
in  the  army  of  any  other  nation,  not  even  in 
England  or  in  democratic  America.  Perhaps  the 
real  strength  of  our  army  comes  from  this  special 
moral  and  spiritual  condition.  But  the  obstinate 
courage  of  the  Russian  soldiers  is  a  characteristic 
worthy  of  our  admiration.  While  holding  fast  to 
Port  Arthur,  their  provisions  and  ammunition  be- 
came scarce,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
lives  were  taken,  and  their  sad  situation  was  like 
a  light  before  a  gust  of  wind;  yet,  in  the  midst  of 
such  disheartening  conditions,  they  did  not  change 
their  attitude  at  all,  but  went  on  resisting  us  with 
dogged  determination.  This  was  done  by  the  Rus- 
sians through  the  force  of  their  Russian  character- 
istics and  shows  plainly  what  was  the  education 
and  discipline  they  had  undergone.  A  passage  in 
the  Military  Reader  of  Russia  runs :  — 

"The  laurel  of  victory  in  battle  can  be  won  by 
the  bayonet  and  the  war-cry.  When  your  shot  is 
exhausted,  knock  down  the  enemy  with  the  stock 
of  your  rifle.  If  the  rifle  stock  be  broken,  bite  with 
your  teeth." 

191 


Yes,  they  were  stubborn  in  their  resistance  and 
attack,  but  at  the  same  time  they  were  extremely 
careful  of  their  lives.  These  two  characteristics  are 
contradictory  to  each  other.  "Rather  live  as  a  tile 
than  be  broken  as  a  jewel,"  seemed  their  great  prin- 
ciple, the  contrary  of  the  Japanese  ideal,  "rather 
die  beautifully  than  live  in  ignominy."  One  Rus- 
sian captive  is  reported  to  have  said:  "I  have  a 
dear  wife;  she  must  be  extremely  anxious  about  me. 
Our  officers  told  us  that  the  Japanese  Army  was 
brittle  as  a  clay  statue.  But,  contrary  to  our  expecta- 
tion, they  are  as  strong  as  devils.  Rather  than  fight 
and  be  killed,  I  must  save  my  life  for  my  wife.  If  I 
die  she  will  grieve  and  go  mad.  I  am  no  match  for 
the  Japanese.  It  is  silly  to  fight  on,  knowing  that 
we  shall  surely  be  killed  by  the  Japanese  Army." 
There  is  an  impassable  gulf  between  this  and  the 
Japanese  ideal  and  determination  to  die  in  honor 
but  never  live  in  shame. 

We  defended  and  held  on  to  this  Taku-shan, 
though  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  hold  against 
the  enemy's  assault.  Fortunately  all  their  attempts 
at  retaking  it  came  to  naught.  Eventually  the 
Russians  seemed  to  give  up  the  idea  of  any  fur- 
ther counter-attack,  and  began  to  busy  themselves 
with  strengthening  the  already  strong  constructions 
on  the  main  line  of  defense  and  with  impeding 
our  work  of  fortification  by  firing  incessantly  the 
heavy  guns  of  the  different  forts.  At  the  same  time, 

192 


our  detachment  was  fortifying  Taku-shan  on  the 
side  toward  the  enemy,  gathering  siege  material, 
constructing  strong  positions  for  heavy  batteries,  •— • 
and  sending  out  efficient  scouts  to  ascertain  the  -Ap- 
positions of  the  enemy's  mines,  the  condition  of   ^fL 
their  wire-entanglements,  and  to  see  how  their  fire 
would  affect  the  routes  assigned  for  our  march. 
All  these  preparations,  and  all  these  investigations 
about  the  condition  of  the  zone  of  our  attack  being 
completed,  the  igth  of  August  was  fixed  for  the 
first  general  assault,  and  East  Kikuan  was  given 
to  our  detachment  as  our  chief  objective.  Because 
this  battle  was  expected  to  seal  the  fate  of  Port 
Arthur,  everything  was  most  carefully  and  accu- 
rately planned  and  mapped  out. 


PROMOTION  AND  FAREWELLS 

OF  course  we  left  Japan  fully  determined  to 
turn  into  dust  under  the  hoofs  of  His  Ma- 
jesty's steed,  saying,  "Here  I  stand  ready  to  die." 
Our  hearts  were  impatient,  but  the  opportunity 
was  slow  in  coming.  More  than  one  hundred 
days  had  passed  since  we  had  left  for  the  front. 
Then  hundreds  of  blossoms  on  home  fields  and 
mountains  made  our  uniforms  fragrant  with  their 
sweet  smell,  the  spring  breeze  that  wafted  us  to  a 
strange  land  far  away  lightly  kissed  the  sun-colors. 
Time  flies  quickly,  and  now  we  sit  under  the  shadow 
of  green  leaves.  At  night,  sleeping  on  our  arms,  or 
in  the  day,  exposed  to  the  hail-storm  of  bullets,  we 
had  never  forgotten  our  desire  to  return  the  Imperial 
favor  and  beneficence  with  death,  and  death  only. 
The  time,  however,  was  not  yet  full.  Thousands 
of  our  comrades  had  died  without  the  joy  of  seeing 
the  final  success;  their  spirits  must  be  unconsoled 
and  unable  to  find  eternal  rest.  We  were  eager  to 
avenge  them,  but  ah!  the  opportunity  had  not  yet 
194 


come.  We  survivors  lived  in  the  stink  of  rotting 
flesh  and  crumbling  bones;  our  own  flesh  wasted 
and  even  our  bones  seemed  thinner.  We  were  like 
a  group  of  spirits  with  sharp,  eager  passions  in 
miserable  bodies,  but  still  we  were  offshoots  of  the 
genuine  cherry  tree  of  Yamato.  How  was  it  that  we 
were  still  alive  after  fighting  one,  two,  three,  already 
four  battles,  without  having  fallen  like  beautiful 
cherry  petals  of  the  battle-field?  I  had  been  fully 
resolved  to  die  on  Taku-shan,  but  still  I  was  left 
behind  by  a  great  many  of  my  friends.  Surely  this 
time,  in  this  general  assault,  I  must  have  the  honor 
and  distinction  of  offering  my  little  self  to  our 
beloved  country.  With  this  idea,  this  desire,  this 
determination,  I  started  for  the  battle. 

I  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  in  the  early 
part  of  August,  but  the  news  reached  me  just  on 
this  occasion.  Colonel  Aoki  called  me  before  him 
and  told  me  most  gravely:  "I  congratulate  you 
on  your  promotion.  You  have  carried  the  regi- 
mental colors  from  the  very  beginning.  You  are 
now  released  from  that  duty,  but  strive  harder  still, 
for  to-morrow  is  assigned  for  our  general  assault. 
I  have  eaten  and  slept  with  you  for  a  long  time 
and  am  grieved  to  part  with  you,  but  I  say  good- 
by  to  you  now  because  I  am  anxious  for  your 
success." 

Yes,  I  had  eaten  and  slept  with  the  dear  regi- 
mental commander  from  our  first  arrival  and  had 

195 


fought  at  his  side.  In  the  bivouac,  exposed  to  rain 
and  dew,  the  colonel  had  shared  his  mat  with  me 
so  that  I  might  sleep  the  better.  Even  his  scanty 
food  he  divided  with  me,  smiling  as  cheerily  as  if 
he  were  eating  with  his  family  at  home.  I  had 
always  feared  that  the  colonel,  who  was  used  to 
sleeping  on  a  comfortable  couch  at  home,  might 
contract  an  illness  from  this  bed  and  pillow  of  grass. 
With  three  thousand  lives  in  his  hand,  the  life  of 
the  regimental  commander  is  very  precious,  and 
the  morale  of  the  whole  regiment  depends  largely 
upon  his  health.  I  had  tried  my  best  to  serve  him 
attentively  and  make  him  as  comfortable  as  the 
uncomfortable  circumstances  of  the  battle-field 
would  allow.  Some  time  ago,  while  we  were  at 
Changchia-tun,  I  prepared  hot  water  in  a  water 
jar  and  offered  him  the  first  hot  bath  he  had  had 
since  leaving  Japan.  He  was  pleased  with  it  from 
the  bottom  of  his  heart,  and  I  shall  never  forget  his 
glad  countenance  of  that  moment.  Now  I  had  to 
part  with  the  colonel  who  was  as  dear  to  me  as 
my  own  father,  and  my  grief  was  without  limit.  Of 
course  I  still  belonged  to  one  of  his  companies 
and  I  was  still  his  subordinate.  It  was  not  a  real 
separation,  but  I  felt  as  if  I  were  going  far  away 
from  him.  When  I  heard  these  farewell  words  of 
his,  I  felt  my  throat  choked  with  tears  and  could 
not  raise  my  head  for  a  while.  It  was  also  a  great 
sorrow  for  me  to  part  with  the  regimental  colors 
196 


that  I  had  taken  care  of  through  thick  and  thin. 
When  I  looked  at  the  faded,  torn  standard  now 
hanging  to  the  left  of  the  colonel,  I  could  not  help 
feeling  that  among  the  three  thousand  men  whose 
hearts  all  stir  at  the  sight  of  that  flag,  I  had  a 
right  to  a  special  emotion  in  the  presence  of  the 
regimental  insignia. 

After  a  moment  of  thoughtful  silence,  I  sorrow- 
ing over  my  separation  from  the  flag  and  the  colonel, 
and  the  colonel  apparently  regretting  his  parting 
with  me,  I  said  earnestly:  "Colonel,  I  will  show 
you  what  a  splendid  fight  I  can  make  —  "I  could 
not  say  anything  more  and,  turning  on  my  heel 
quietly,  walked  off  a  few  steps  and  then  ran  to 
my  servant  and  said:  "I  am  now  ordered  to  go  to 
my  company.  You,  in  consequence,  must  leave  me, 
but  I  shall  never  forget  your  kindness.  Remem- 
ber me  as  your  true  elder  brother  to  eternity.  I 
cannot  say  anything  more.  Fight  like  a  brave 
soldier." 

Bunkichi  Takao,  my  servant  soldier,  wept  bit- 
terly and  said  he  could  never  leave  me.  That,  how- 
ever, could  not  be.  I  soothed  and  comforted  him, 
saying  that  he  must  obey  his  superiors'  commands 
faithfully  and  not  be  behind  anybody  else  in  doing 
and  suffering,  and  that  the  box  we  had  made  to- 
gether before  the  battle  of  Taku-shan  was  certainly 
to  be  used  this  time.  I,  too,  was  very  reluctant  to 
lose  him,  and  my  heart  was  full  of  emotion. 

197 


"Lieutenant,  do  you  really  think  of  me  as  your 
younger  brother?"  Takao  said,  in  tears;  and  I  too 
shed  hot  tears. 

"We  part  now,  but  may  meet  again.  If  we  die, 
let  us  die  together  a  glorious  death  and  talk  over 
the  past  together  in  another  world."  So  saying,  I 
started  to  go  after  he  had  brushed  the  dust  off  my 
uniform  and  retied  the  strings  of  my  leggings. 

"Well,  then,  lieutenant  —  "he  began  to  say,  but, 
too  sad  to  look  at  me  any  longer,  he  covered  his 
face  and  turned  away. 

"Takao,  don't  forget  what  I  have  told  you  from 
time  to  time,"  I  said,  and  walked  to  the  position 
where  the  Third  Battalion  was  stationed. 

Separated  from  the  regimental  flag,  from  the 
colonel,  and  from  my  own  servant,  I  directed  my 
solitary  steps  through  the  wild  country.  As  I  looked 
at  the  hills  and  valleys,  now  turned  into  the  graves 
of  my  dear  comrades,  and  watched  the  clouds  gather 
and  disperse  in  the  sky,  I  could  not  help  thinking 
of  the  inconstancy  of  earthly  things.  Suddenly  it 
occurred  to  me  that  I  must  see  Surgeon  Yasui  once 
more,  and  say  good-by  to  Captain  Matsuoka,  my 
senior  officer  from  my  native  province.  At  once  I 
turned  back  and  walked  some  distance  to  a  ravine  at 
the  northern  foot  of  Taku-shan.  Captain  Matsuoka 
was  sitting  alone  in  his  tent  and  was  glad  to  see  me. 

"I  have  not  seen  you  for  some  time,"  he  said. 
"Are  you  quite  well?" 

198 


"Thank  you,  I  am,  and  I  have  been  promoted 
to  be  first  lieutenant.  I  am  now  ordered  to  join  the 
Third  Battalion.  Please  continue  your  favor  toward 
me." 

The  captain  said,  abruptly,  "Then  this  is  our 
last  chance  of  meeting  in  this  world!" 

I  told  him  that  I,  too,  expected  to  die,  and  ex- 
pressed my  desire  that  we  might  die  together  on  the 
top  of  Kikuan.  When  I  rose  to  go,  the  captain 
tapped  me  on  the  shoulder  and  asked,  "What  have 
you  there  at  your  belt?"  Whereupon  I  smiled 
faintly  and  said,  "It  is  my  coffin."  "Well,  indeed! 
You  are  well  prepared!"  That  was  our  farewell, 
and  I  left  the  ravine.  Soon  this  separation  in  life 
was  to  be  followed  by  the  separation  of  death. 

I  then  went  over  to  the  headquarters  of  the  First 
Battalion,  which  were  hidden  behind  the  rocks  near 
Chuchia-tun,  and  found  Surgeon  Yasui.  Soon  after 
my  arrival  there,  a  few  of  the  enemy's  shot  fell  with 
a  tremendous  noise  in  front  of  the  tent.  Four  or  five 
more  followed,  but  we  were  so  accustomed  to  such 
things  that  we  paid  little  attention  to  it.  This  posi- 
tion, I  was  told,  was  frequently  a  target  for  the 
enemy's  fire.  I  was  grieved  to  hear  that  the  com- 
mander of  the  First  Battalion  had  been  slightly 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  Taku-shan.  When  I  told 
Surgeon  Yasui  of  my  promotion,  he  took  me  aside 
to  where  the  powder-boxes  were  piled  and  said  that 
he  had  been  longing  to  see  me;  that,  though  we 

199 


were  in  the  same  place,  we  had  had  no  chance  of  a 
friendly  chat,  and  that  every  day  and  night  he  had 
been  waiting  impatiently  to  hear  from  me.  I  was 
deeply  moved  and  said  to  him  that  it  was  strange 
that  both  of  us  had  been  spared  so  far,  but  that 
this  time  I  was  fully  prepared  for  death,  and  that 
I  had  come  on  purpose  to  see  him  once  more  and 
take  a  last  farewell.  I  also  reminded  him  of  our 
promise  in  that  ruined  house  at  Hwangni-chuan, 
and  said  that  if  both  should  die  that  would  be  all, 
but  if  he  should  survive  me  he  was  to  cut  off  a  part 
of  my  bloodstained  uniform  and  keep  it  as  a 
memento.  We  grasped  each  other's  hands  firmly, 
saying  that  this  was  our  eternal  farewell  in  this 
world,  and,  praying  for  each  other's  success,  we 
parted  in  tears.  Reluctantly  I  left  his  tent,  crossed 
the  river  Taiko,  climbed  the  mountain  slope  facing 
the  enemy's  fortress,  and  went  to  the  headquarters 
of  the  brigade  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  brigadier- 
general.  Just  at  the  time  when  I  arrived  at  head- 
quarters the  adjutant  was  relieved  from  duty  on 
account  of  illness,  so,  as  a  temporary  arrangement, 
I  was  put  in  his  place  as  aide-de-camp.  Later  I 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  Twelfth  Company. 

On  the  night  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the 
general  attack  of  the  igth,  I  received  two  letters 
brought  to  me  by  the  cook.  Of  course  no  mail 
was  expected  to  reach  us  in  such  a  place  and 
under  such  circumstances,  but  these  two  letters 

200 


had  been  miscarried  and  mislaid  for  some  time  be- 
fore finally  reaching  me.  They  were  both  from  my 
elder  brother,  one  inclosing  a  fountain  pen  and 
the  other  a  photograph  of  my  two  little  nieces,  one 
four  and  the  other  three  years  of  age.  They  seemed 
to  say  " Dear  Uncle"  to  me  from  the  picture.  Such 
sweet  little  faces!  If,  however,  the  little  babies  in 
the  photograph  had  had  eyes  that  could  see,  they 
would  perhaps  have  cried  at  my  changed,  ema- 
ciated features.  Night  and  day  I  had  been  seeing 
nothing  but  unkempt  soldiers  or  shattered  flesh 
and  broken  bones.  Even  the  flowers  that  had 
smiled  from  the  grassy  fields  were  now  trodden 
down  and  crushed.  In  such  a  battle-field,  and  on 
the  night  before  a  great  fight,  I  was  honored  with 
the  visit  of  these  dear  nieces.  How  it  softened  my 
wild  heart !  What  joy  they  brought  to  me !  I  could 
not  help  kissing  their  dear  eyes  and  mouths  and 
murmuring  to  myself:  "You  brave  little  ones,  that 
have  left  your  dear  mother's  lap  to  cross  the  broad 
sea  and  wild  waves  to  visit  me  in  this  place  of 
powder-smoke  and  shot-rain!  Your  uncle  will  take 
you  with  him  to-morrow  and  let  you  see  how  he 
chastises  the  enemy  of  dear  Japan." 

The  cloud  of  smoke  had  passed  away  for  this 
night  and  bright  stars  were  twinkling  in  the  sky. 
I  slept  in  the  camp  with  my  two  little  nieces  by 
my  side.  Nelson's  last  words  came  forcibly  to  my 
mind,  and  I  also  repeated  over  and  over  again  the 

201 


couplet  that  I  had  written  and  given  my  father 
when  leaving  Japan,  in  which  I  had  spoken  of  "the 
glory  of  death  in  battle,  loyalty  for  seven  lives." 
To  leave  my  skull  bleaching  in  the  wilderness  and 
become  a  patriotic  spirit  returning  to  life  seven 
times  —  was  this  to  take  place  on  the  morrow  or 
on  the  day  after?  My  time  was  almost  full! 

There  was  a  lance-corporal  by  the  name  of  Ya- 
mamoto,  who  about  this  time  sent  clippings  of  his 
nails  and  hair  to  his  mother  and  brother,  together 
with  a  farewell  letter  and  poem;  and  this  letter 
proved  to  be  his  last.  It  ran  thus:  — 

"Twice  already  I  have  joined  a  forlorn  hope, 
and  still  I  am  keeping  my  head  on  my  shoulders. 
I  am  filled  with  grief  when  I  think  of  my  dead  com- 
rades. Out  of  over  two  hundred  men  who  ad- 
vanced before  the  others  of  our  company,  there  are 
only  twenty  left  who  are  able-bodied.  Fortunately 
or  unfortunately  I  am  among  this  small  number. 
But  the  life  of  man  is  only  fifty  years.  Unless  I 
give  up  that  life  betimes,  I  may  have  no  proper 
opportunity  again.  Sooner  or  later  I  must  die,  as 
all  must  die.  So  I  prefer  being  broken  to  pieces  as 
a  jewel  to  remaining  whole  as  a  tile.  Shot  or  bay- 
onet or  whatever  may  come,  I  can  die  but  once. 
My  comrade  is  shot  at  my  right  hand,  my  officer's 
thigh  and  arm  are  blown  up  into  the  air  at  my 
left  —  and  I  in  the  middle  am  not  hurt  at  all,  and 

202 


I  pinch  myself,  doubting  whether  it  is  not  a  dream. 
I  feel  the  pinching,  so  I  must  be  alive  still.  My  time 
for  dying  has  not  come  yet.  I  must  brace  myself 
up  to  avenge  my  comrades.  You  proud,  impudent 
Huskies !  I  will  chastise  you  severely.  —  Thus  my 
heart  is  ever  impatient  though  I  am  lacking  in 
brilliant  parts.  Born  a  farmer's  son,  I  shall  yet 
be  sung  as  a  flower  of  the  cherry  tree,  if  I  fight 
bravely  and  die  in  the  battle-field,  instead  of  dying 
naturally  but  ignobly  in  a  thatched  hut  on  a  straw 
mat. 

"  Banzai,  banzai,  banzai  to  H.  M.  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief! 

"  TAKETOSHI  YAMAMOTO, 

"  Late   Lance-Corporal  of  the  Infantry  of  the 
Army." 

You  notice  that  he  used  the  word  "late"  before 
his  title,  showing  beyond  any  doubt  his  resolve  to 
enter  the  death-ground  with  a  smile.  Such  a  re- 
solve was  held  by  all  at  that  time,  and  Yamamoto 
only  gave  a  clear  though  unsophisticated  expression 
to  the  general  sentiment. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  GENERAL 
ASSAULT 

WHEN  a  correspondent  of  the  "Novoe 
Vremya "  inspected  the  defenses  of  Port 
Arthur,  his  remark  is  reported  to  have  been:  "It 
is  like  an  eagle's  nest  that  even  a  sky-scraping 
ladder  cannot  reach."  Yes,  it  was  even  so.  As 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  every  hill  and  every 
mountain  was  covered  with  forts  and  ramparts; 
the  landward  side  was  encircled  with  iron  walls  of 
tenfold  strength,  and  its  defenders  were  brave  sol- 
diers trained  by  the  veteran  General  Dragomiloff, 
—  courageous  men,  the  strongest  and  quickest,  - 
the  flower  of  the  Russian  Army.  We  were  now  in 
front  of  this  "impregnable"  fortress  to  prove  that 
it  was  "pregnable"  after  all.  The  igth  of  August 
was  the  first  day  of  the  general  attack,  the  starting- 
point  of  the  historic  incident  of  the  fall  of  Port 
Arthur.  The  struggle  that  was  to  be  characterized 
in  the  world's  history  of  warfare  as  the  most  difficult 
and  most  horrible  of  all  struggles  began  on  this  day 
204 


and  lasted  for  more  than  four  months.  During  this 
period  our  desperate  attack  was  responded  to  by 
as  desperate  a  defense,  and  our  army  paid  an  im- 
mense  price  for  its  victory,  turning  the  mountains 
and  valleys  of  Port  Arthur  into  scorched  earth 
honeycombed  by  shells,  butchering  men  and  cap- 
turing  the  fortress  at  last  with  bullets  of  human 
flesh  shot  out  by  the  Yamato-Damashii  itself.  The 
gazing  world  was  astonished  by  the  wonderful 
efficiency  of  such  a  mode  of  warfare! 

We,  at  the  foot  of  Taku-shan,  were  hurrying 
on  the  various  preparations  for  attack.  We  were 
making  a  special  investigation  of  the  ways  and 
means  of  encountering  the  wire-entanglements, 
upon  which  the  enemy  depended  as  the  most  effi- 
cient of  their  secondary  defensive  works,  and  by 
the  stakes  and  wires  of  which  so  many  of  our  men 
had  been  killed  in  previous  battles.  All  the  hills 
in  our  sight,  large  or  small,  high  or  low,  were 
wrapped  about  with  these  horrible  things,  that 
looked  at  a  distance  like  dark  dots  on  the  ground. 

We  had  to  break  these  entanglements,  step  on 
them,  and  proceed.  The  cutting  properly  belonged 
to  the  engineers,  but  their  number  was  limited 
while  that  of  the  wire-entanglements  was  almost 
limitless.  So  the  infantry  had  to  learn  to  cut  them 
for  themselves.  An  imitation  entanglement  was 
made  on  the  bank  of  the  river  Taiko  and  we  were 
taught  by  the  engineers  how  to  break  it  down. 

205 


First  of  all,  a  group  of  shears-men  would  march 
up  and  cut  the  iron  wires,  then  the  saw-men  would 
follow  and  knock  down  the  stakes  or  else  saw  them 
through.  When  a  part  of  the  entanglement  was 
thus  opened,  a  detachment  of  men  would  rush 
through  the  opening. 

This  kind  of  work  was  of  urgent  necessity  for 
us  and  we  practiced  it  with  zeal  and  diligence.  But 
in  actual  fighting  the  work  cannot  be  done  so 
easily.  The  forlorn-hope  engineers,  who  march  up 
to  destroy  the  entanglements,  are  always  annihi- 
lated without  exception,  because  they  have  to  work 
before  the  very  muzzles  of  the  machine-guns.  More- 
over, it  was  discovered  that  these  wires  were  charged 
with  electricity.  There  were,  however,  two  opin- 
ions about  the  electric  current:  one  was  that  the 
electricity  was  strong  enough  to  kill  whoever  touched 
the  wires,  and  the  other  that  it  was  only  intended 
to  inform  the  enemy's  watchtowers,  by  a  weak  cur- 
rent of  electricity,  of  the  approach  of  the  destroyers. 
Whichever  it  might  be,  we  could  not  cut  the  wires 
with  ordinary  scissors  so  long  as  they  were  charged 
with  electricity,  so  we  contrived  to  bind  bamboo 
sticks  to  the  handles  of  the  shears  to  make  them 
non-conducting.  In  spite  of  all  these  precautions, 
we  found  in  actual  fight  that  the  wires  were  charged 
with  a  very  strong  current;  some  of  our  men  were 
killed  instantly  by  the  shock,  others  had  their  limbs 
split  like  brushes  of  bamboo.  We  also  practiced 

206 


methods  of  crossing  the  enemy's  trenches  with  lad- 
ders, but  again  in  actual  fight  we  found  that  their 
trenches  were  too  wide  or  too  deep  for  these  ladders  •— • 
to  be  of  much  use.  J— 

The  fortress  was  protected  by  earth-mines,  which 
were  buried  everywhere.  They  had  to  be  destroyed 
by  our  engineers,  by  cutting  off  the  fuse.  Until 
the  very  day  of  our  attack  we  could  see  through 
field-glasses  groups  of  Russians  at  work  here  and 
there,  burying  these  explosives  in  the  ground  with 
picks.  We  marked  those  places  on  our  maps.  We 
found  out  and  remembered  everything  that  we 
could;  for  instance,  that  each  of  the  stakes  of  the 
entanglements  was  beaten  down  with  twelve  blows 
of  a  hammer,  or  how  many  earth-mines  were  being 
buried  in  any  particular  valley.  Our  reconnoitring 
parties  found  that  every  ravine  up  which  our  in- 
fantry was  likely  to  march  was  set  with  mines,  and 
that  the  methods  of  disposing  them  were  very  clever. 
To  cite  one  example,  where  the  ravine  was  narrow- 
est there  was  buried  a  mine  that  would  explode 
when  stepped  on.  When  the  first  man  was  killed 
in  this  way,  the  rest  would  of  course  divide  them- 
selves on  either  side  of  the  ravine,  where  a  series 
of  mines  would  burst  and  kill  all  of  the  attacking 
party.  It  was  extremely  hard  to  go  through  these 
places  in  safety.  On  the  top  of  all  this,  all  the  guns 
and  rifles  of  all  the  forts  and  skirmish-trenches 
were  so  directed  as  to  be  able  to  aim  at  every  ravine 

207 


and  every  rock,  so  that  none  of  us  could  escape  the 
concentrated  cross-fire  from  three  directions.  Their 
defense  left  almost  nothing  to  be  desired. 

At  dawn  on  the  igth  of  August,  the  whole  line 
of  our  artillery  opened  fire  simultaneously,  with 
East  Kikuan  as  our  chief  objective,  but  bombard- 
ing other  forts  at  the  same  time.  This  was  the 
first  step  in  our  general  assault.  Soon,  our  assault- 
ing columns  pushed  on  their  way  under  cover  of 
the  artillery  fire,  approaching  the  enemy  inch  by 
inch,  ready  to  rush  upon  them  with  one  accord  as 
soon  as  our  fire  began  to  take  effect  upon  the  Rus- 
sians. Therefore  our  batteries  devoted  their  whole 
energy  to  breaking  the  forts,  shattering  the  bomb- 
proofs,  and  opening  breaches  in  the  skirmish- 
trenches  through  which  our  storming  parties  could 
enter. 

No  sooner  had  our  firing  begun  than  the  enemy 
responded  from  all  their  batteries  and  tried  hard 
to  silence  our  artillery  and  impede  the  progress  of 
our  infantry.  What  a  terrible  scene  presented  it- 
self when  huge  shells  were  exchanged  between  the 
heavy  guns  of  both  sides!  Explosive  shells  as  big 
as  sake-casks  l  and  spherical  shells  caused  great 
vibrations  in  the  air,  and  their  groaning  reverbera- 
tion set  at  naught  the  fury  of  pealing  thunders. 
The  bursting  of  shells  scattered  lightning  every- 
where, and  the  smoke  covered  the  scene  with  thick 

1  The  sake-cask,  contains  about  sixteen  gallons. 
208 


steamy  clouds,  in  which  it  seemed  impossible  for 
any  living  thing  to  breathe.  We  nicknamed  the 
enemy's  shells  "train  shells,"  because  they  came 
moaning  and  shrieking  just  like  a  train  leaving  the 
station  with  sharp  whistling.  When  we  heard  such 
a  sound  near  us  the  whole  earth  shook,  and  in  the 
tremendous  roaring  men,  horses,  rocks,  and  sand 
were  all  hurled  up  together.  Everything  that  came 
into  collision  with  these  terrible  trains  was  reduced 
to  small  fragments;  these  fragments  would  fall  to 
the  ground  and  then  go  up  again,  as  if  they  had 
wings  to  fly  with.  One  lieutenant's  neck  was  torn 
by  a  fragment  of  shell,  and  his  head  hung  by  the 
skin  only.  Both  arms  of  a  private  were  cut  off  clean 
from  the  shoulders  by  the  same  process. 

This  day  was  to  come  to  an  end  with  bombard- 
ment only.  It  had  been  our  plan  to  employ  the  first 
day  or  two  in  bombarding  the  enemy  and  then 
to  go  on  with  an  infantry  attack.  That  evening  I 
went  on  business  to  the  headquarters  of  our  divi- 
sion, that  is,  the  place  where  our  artillery  was 
posted.  It  was  a  dark  night,  and  through  the  sky 
whitish-blue  bars  of  fire  were  flying  to  and  fro  be- 
tween the  contending  parties;  it  looked  to  me  like 
the  highway  leading  to  hell.  The  Russian  search- 
lights were  being  thrown  over  the  position  of  our 
artillery  f rom  Kikuan-shan  and  Hokuginzan.  These 
terrible  lights  would  turn  every  now  and  then  to- 
ward our  infantry,  who  were  approaching  the 

209 


enemy  step  by  step.  We,  too,  used  the  search-lights 
captured  from  the  enemy  and  tried  to  counteract 
the  power  of  theirs  and  also  to  expose  the  Russian 
battery  to  view,  but  they  were  far  inferior  to  those 
still  in  the  enemy's  possession.  Star-shells  were 
shot  off  from  time  to  time  by  the  enemy,  which 
illuminated  the  sky  far  better  than  the  annual  dis- 
play of  fireworks  at  Ryogoku.1  They  were  like 
great  electric  lamps  hanging  in  the  air,  making  the 
whole  place  as  light  as  day,  so  that  even  the  move- 
ment of  an  ant  could  easily  be  detected.  They 
were  powerful  in  thwarting  the  progress  of  our  as- 
saulting column,  because  every  movement  of  the 
detachment  was  exposed  by  this  light  and  could 
be  accurately  seen  by  the  enemy,  and  the  usual 
machine-guns  were  sure  to  pour  a  rain  of  horrible 
shot  upon  the  invaders.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  we 
saw  the  star-rocket  burst  in  the  sky,  we  used  to  cau- 
tion each  other,  saying,  "  Don't  move!  don't  move!" 
When  I  reached  headquarters,  the  division- 
commander  and  his  staff  were  standing  at  our 
artillery  position  and  watching  this  scene  of  night 
fighting  without  the  cover  of  darkness.  As  soon  as 
a  search-light  was  seen  in  a  Russian  fort,  our  chief- 
of-staff  would  order,  "  Hit  that !  Smash  that  fellow ! " 
He  said,  folding  his  arms  in  utter  unconcern:  "I 

1  The  annual  festival  of  the  "  Opening  of  the  River,"  held  at 
Ryogoku  Bashi  in  Tokyo,  is  the  occasion  for  a  great  display  of 
fireworks. 

2IO 


feel  like  a  young  bride!   Exposed  to  such  a  full 
glare  of  light,  I  am  awfully  shy  and  bashful!" 

Our  detachment  marched  as  far  as  Yangchia-   •— 
kou  during  this  night.  Soon  after  we  reached  there,  «JL. 
a  shell  came  near  us  with  a  tremendous  noise.  We   MJ 
said  to  each  other:  "Some  must  have  been  killed.    LI— J 
Who  are  they?   Who?"    When  the  smoke  cleared, 
we  found  four  or  five  men  lying  dead  or  wounded, 
two  of  them  recruits  who  had  arrived  only  a  few 
days  before  from  home.  One  of  the  two  was  killed 
in  a  horrible  manner;  the  half  of  his  body  below 
the  waist  was  entirely  gone.  The  legs  of  the  other 
were  shattered  and  the  blood  was  gushing  out  like 
water.    His  captain  went  to  him  and  encouraged 
him,  saying:  "Don't  be  afraid!  Be  brave!" 

"Captain,  I  am  very  sorry  to  be  thus  disabled 
without  having  fought  at  all.  I  will  come  back 
healed  as  quickly  as  possible.  Please  let  me  be  in 
your  company  again." 

"Even  without  having  fought,  your  wounds  are 
honorable.  Get  well  quickly  and  come  back!" 

Why  one  is  shot  on  the  battle-field  and  the  other 
not  seems  an  inscrutable  mystery.  Some  there  are 
who  in  one  severe  fight  after  another  do  not  sustain 
a  single  scratch;  others  seem  to  be  followed  by 
shot  or  to  draw  shot  to  themselves.  Some  are  killed 
very  soon  after  landing  and  before  knowing  how 
it  feels  to  be  shot  at.  When  once  you  become  a 
target  for  shot,  forty  or  fifty  may  come  to  you,  as 

211 


to  that  man  in  the  battle  of  Taipo-shan  of  whom 
j  have  already  spoken.  Is  this  what  is  called  fate, 
Lmf  or  is  it  mere  chance  ?  On  the  iQth,  when  the  head- 
quarters of  the  division  were  removed  to  the  northern 
slope  of  Taku-shan,  the  division- commander  was 
observing  the  enemy,  with  a  staff-officer  on  either 
side,  when  a  projectile  came  and  both  the  staff- 
officers  were  killed  on  the  spot,  while  the  general 
in  the  middle  was  not  even  slightly  hurt.  In  an 
assault  on  a  fortress  those  in  front  have  of  course  the 
highest  probability  of  being  hit,  but  even  those  in 
the  rear  sustain  more  injury  than  in  a  field  battle. 
Napoleon  said:  "A  shot  may  be  aimed  at  you, 
but  cannot  pursue  you.  If  it  could  pursue  you 
at  all,  it  would  overtake  you  even  if  you  fled  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  Yes,  a  shot  is  an 
uncanny  thing,  like  an  apparition.  With  our  hu- 
man power  we  cannot  tell  whether  it  will  hit  us  or 
not.  It  depends  entirely  upon  one's  luck.  There 
is  another  incident  that  I  recollect  in  this  connec- 
tion. After  the  battle  of  Taipo-shan,  five  or  six  of 
the  retreating  Russians  were  walking  off  in  a  lei- 
surely way,  without  hurrying,  and  swinging  their 
arms.  This  behavior  we  thought  very  impudent, 
and  each  of  us  aimed  at  them  as  carefully  as  in 
drill-ground  practice  and  fired  at  them  with  our 
rifles  resting  on  something  steady,  but  all  in  vain. 
One  officer  was  sure  he  could  hit  them,  but  he  too 
failed,  and  the  Russians  continued  to  walk  off 

212 


slowly  and  were  eventually  lost  sight  of.  Several 
times  after  this,  we  tried  our  skill  in  musketry  on  a 
Russian  standing  on  a  fort  and  waving  his  hand- 
kerchief to  challenge  us,  or  on  some  audacious 
fellow  who  would  dare  to  come  out  of  the  breast- 
work and  insult  us.  In  spite  of  our  skill,  indigna- 
tion, and  curiosity  combined,  these  impudent  fel- 
lows often  escaped  in  safety.  Such  being  the  case, 
those  who  have  been  through  several  battles  become 
naturally  careless  and  fearless.  At  first  we  invol- 
untarily lower  our  heads  a  little  at  the  sound  of  a 
small  bullet.  Even  the  officer  who  scolds  his  men, 
saying,  "Who  is  it  that  salutes  the  enemy's  shot?" 
cannot  help  nodding  to  the  enemy  at  first.  Of 
course  this  does  not  imply  timidity  at  all;  it  seems 
to  be  the  result  of  some  sort  of  reflex  action  of  the 
nerves.  But  when  the  shot  begin  to  come  like  a 
shower  of  rain,  we  can  no  longer  give  each  shot  a 
bow,  but  become  bold  at  once.  The  boom  and 
roar  of  big  shells  excite  in  us  no  special  sensation. 
When  we  know  that  by  the  time  we  hear  these 
horrible  sounds  the  projectiles  have  gone  far  past 
us,  our  courage  is  confirmed  and,  instead  of  bow- 
ing to  an  empty  sound,  we  begin  to  think  of  stand- 
ing on  the  breastwork  and  munching  rice-balls  to 
show  off  to  the  enemy !  And  the  shot  seems  to  shun 
those  audacious  ones  as  a  rule,  to  go  round  them 
and  call  upon  others! 


A   RAIN   OF   HUMAN   BULLETS 

THE  bodies  of  the  brave  dead  built  hill  upon 
hill,  their  blood  made  streams  in  the  valleys. 
The  battle-field  was  turned  into  a  cemetery  and 
hill  and  valley  into  burnt-out  soil.  As  minutes  and 
seconds  went  on,  life  after  life  was  sent  off  into  eter- 
nity. When  the  attacking  party  combines  accu- 
rate firearms  with  ammunition  powerful  enough 
to  demoralize  the  enemy,  what  is  the  power  with 
which  to  follow  up  this  advantage  to  its  sure  result, 
that  is,  final  victory  ?  That  power  is  the  bayonet 
and  the  war-cry  together!  The  glittering  bayonet, 
the  hideous  yelling,  when  combined,  are  what  really 
put  the  enemy  to  flight.  A  correspondent  of  the 
London  "Standard"  has  said  truly:  "The  war-cry 
of  the  Japanese  Army  pierced  the  hearts  of  the 
Russians."  But,  however  much  our  glittering  bay- 
onets and  shouting  voices  intimidated  the  enemy, 
I  cannot  help  weeping  at  the  recollection  of  that 
assault.  Why?  Because  the  glittering  of  the  bay- 
onet and  the  yelling  of  the  war-cry  became  fainter 
214 


and  fainter  in  the  first  general  assault!  In  spite  of 
the  great  number  of  projectiles  and  the  large  quan- 
tity of  human  bullets  that  were  spent,  the  storming  ~~ 
of  the  forts  which  the  Russians  called  invincible  — *— 
ended  in  utter  failure.  Nay,  several  great  assaults 
after  this  one  drained  the  blood  of  patriotic  war- 
riors  and  shattered  their  bones  in  vain.  After  all, 
however,  this  apparently  useless  sacrifice  of  a  large 
number  of  lives  was  not  without  its  effect.  Strate- 
gically we  needed  to  reduce  the  great  fortress  as 
quickly  as  possible,  however  great  the  damage  to 
our  army  might  be ;  so,  therefore,  the  commanding 
general  resolved  with  tears  to  offer  the  necessary 
sacrifice,  and  his  subordinates  willingly  offered 
their  lives  and  stormed  the  enemy  with  bullets  of 
their  own  flesh.  And  these  first  fruitless  assaults 
proved  the  necessary  first  step  and  a  valuable  pre- 
paration for  our  final  success. 

We  noticed  that  our  continuous  bombardment 
of  the  Russian  forts  since  the  iQth,  more  espe- 
cially of  those  on  East  Kikuan,  which  was  our  ob- 
jective, had  dealt  a  severe  blow  on  the  enemy;  so 
the  Yoshinaga  battalion  was  ordered  to  march 
on  the  night  of  the  2ist  as  the  first  assaulting 
column.  A  forlorn  hope  of  engineers  were  dis- 
patched ahead  to  break  the  wire-entanglements. 
Their  desperate  effort  was  fortunately  successful, 
and  a  little  opening  was  made  for  the  infantry. 
Thereupon  Captain  Yoshinaga  ordered  his  men 

215 


not  to  fire  a  shot,  not  to  utter  a  whisper,  but  to 
press  on  under  cover  of  the  night;  and  a  body  of 
dark  shadows  suddenly  stood  right  against  the 
enemy's  ramparts.  The  surprised  Russians  were 
obliged  to  retreat  without  offering  a  fight;  but  as 
soon  as  they  had  fallen  back  a  little  distance, 
a  large  detachment  of  reinforcements  appeared, 
accompanied  by  the  horrible  sound  of  machine- 
guns  in  the  rear.  They  forced  the  retreating  Rus- 
sians forward,  and  together  they  offered  a  strong 
counter-attack,  with  their  shout  of  "Woola"  shak- 
ing heaven  and  earth.  Major  Yoshinaga  ordered 
his  men  not  to  retreat  a  step,  and  a  terrible  hand- 
to-hand  fight  ensued.  Both  parties  fought  fiercely 
with  fists,  bayonets,  and  rifles,  but  alas!  Major 
Yoshinaga,  who  was  commanding  his  men  from 
the  breastwork,  was  shot  through  the  chest  and 
fell.  Captain  Okubo  took  up  the  command  in 
his  place;  soon  he  too  was  killed.  Substitute  after 
substitute  was  killed,  and  eventually  not  only  the 
officers  but  also  the  men  were,  nearly  all  of  them, 
killed.  No  reinforcement  came  to  their  aid,  the 
enemy's  concentrated  fire  became  more  and  more 
violent,  and  the  few  surviving  men  were  obliged 
to  retreat  for  a  while  into  the  ravine  below  the  wire- 
entanglements  and  wait  there  for  the  arrival  of  re- 
serves. None  came  to  help  them,  and  they  waited 
vainly  until  the  dusk  of  the  following  day,  with  the 
remains  of  their  dead  comrades  before  their  eyes. 
216 


They  were  right  below  the  enemy,  only  a  dozen 
feet  or  so  away  from  them,  and  for  thirteen  hours 
they  had  to  grasp  their  rifles  hard  and  stare  at  the    •— 
Russians,  unable  to  do  anything.  -4— 

On  the  night  of  the  22 d  the  Taketomi  bat- 
talion went  through  the  broken  wire-entanglements 
and  tried  by  a  fierce  attack  to  make  good  our 
failure  of  the  previous  night.  Captain  Matsuoka 
was  first  wounded;  his  thigh  was  cut  away  and  he 
could  stand  no  longer.  First  Lieutenant  Miyake 
was  shot  through  the  lungs.  The  scene  went  from 
bad  to  worse.  The  Russians  behaved  as  if  trying 
to  show  that  they  had  been  waiting  for  our  coming, 
proud  of  their  success  of  the  night  before.  Their 
search-lights  went  round  so  fast  as  to  dazzle  our  as- 
saulting detachment;  their  star-lights  burned  over 
our  heads  and  made  us  an  easy  target  for  their 
shooting.  "Charge!  Forward!  Woo-waa!"  Thus 
crying,  Captain  Yanagawa  rushed  in  most  gallantly, 
in  the  light  of  the  star-rockets.  Half  of  his  face  was 
seen  dyed  with  blood  and  he  was  flourishing  a 
glittering  sword  in  his  right  hand.  Again  he  cried, 
"Charge!"  but  that  was  the  last  we  heard  of  his 
brave  voice.  White  blades  flashed  in  the  dark, 
like  reeds  in  the  wind,  but  that  flash  gradually 
ceased,  the  loud  yell  of  a  few  moments  before 
stopped.  We  heard  only  the  shouting  of  the  enemy 
behind  their  ramparts.  They  came  up  and  danced 
for  joy  on  the  breastwork,  while  we  had  been  killed 

217 


to  create  a  hill  of  corpses  and  a  stream  of  blood! 
What  grief!  What  sorrow! 

Captain  Matsuoka,  who  was  seriously  wounded 
as  I  have  said,  soon  lost  so  much  blood  from  his 
wounded  thigh,  that  his  breathing  became  fainter 
and  fainter,  and  he  knew  that  his  end  was  fast 
approaching.  He  pulled  out  of  his  pocket  the  secret 
maps  and  destroyed  them,  and  died  entangled  in 
the  enemy's  wire.  All  who  went  to  fetch  him  were 
also  killed  and  went  to  their  eternal  sleep  side  by 
side  with  the  brave  captain.  This  captain's  glorious 
death  was  later  reported  to  the  Emperor  through 
His  Majesty's  military  chamberlain.  That  Cap- 
tain Yanagawa  who  rushed  toward  the  enemy 
shouting  and  yelling,  in  spite  of  several  wounds, 
was  shot  down  just  at  the  moment  of  leaping  over 
the  Russian  rampart.  He  leaned  against  the  breast- 
work of  the  rampart  to  die  peacefully  there  after 
he  had  done  his  very  best,  but  the  cruel  enemy 
would  not  allow  that.  They  cut  him  into  pieces 
and  subjected  him  to  wanton  cruelties. 

Nevertheless,  we  were  determined  to  deal  a  heavy 
blow  on  some  vital  part  of  the  enemy,  however 
often  and  however  badly  we  might  be  repulsed  or 
routed.  We  were  ready  to  sacrifice  not  only  a  bri- 
gade but  even  a  whole  division  for  this  impor- 
tant object.  Accordingly  another  great  assault  was 
planned  for  3  A.  M.  of  the  24th.  For  several 
days  our  company  had  been  bivouacking  in  the 

218 


ravine  of  Yangchia-kou,  but  now  on  the  night 
of  the  23d  we  were  to  leave  this  place  and 
proceed  to  the  rendezvous  of  Wuchia-fang.  So 
our  captain  gathered  together  his  lieutenants  and 
said :  — 

"Farewell!  I  have  no  other  words  to  say  to  you! 
I  have  decided  to  leave  my  body  on  to-morrow's 
battle-field.  Please  take  this  water  cup  of  long 
separation." 

Before  these  words  from  our  captain  we,  too,  had 
made  up  our  minds  to  die  this  time.  We  exchanged 
the  farewell  cup  of  water  from  our  water  bottle, 
saying :  — 

"  This  evening  our  water  tastes  like  golden  nec- 
tar!" 

Our  company  quietly  left  its  place  of  bivouac 
and  fell  in  under  dark  willows  on  the  river  bank. 
Thinking  that  it  was  the  last  time  we  should  be 
together,  we  could  not  force  back  the  tears.  Soon 
we  began  our  march  and  passed  on  under  the  dark 
avenue  of  trees,  where  we  met  a  long  string  of 
stretchers  carrying  the  wounded  who  had  fallen 
during  the  last  few  days  —  such  a  long,  almost 
endless  train  of  stretchers! 

"Where  are  you  injured?"  I  asked  one  of  them 
as  I  passed.  The  wounded  man  answered,  "My 
legs  broken."  "Well  done!  Go  quietly." 

Our  detachment  reached  the  river  at  the  other 
side  of  a  mountain  that  looks  like  the  back  of  an 

219 


elephant.  It  was  so  dark  that  we  could  not  see 
anything  at  all.  We  groped  our  way  toward  Wu- 
chia-fang,  when  in  front  of  us  we  heard  a  sound  of 
human  voices.  I  threw  myself  on  the  ground  and, 
looking  up,  saw  through  the  dark  that  a  long  line 
of  our  wounded  were  laid  down  on  the  river  beach. 
We  marched  on,  sick  at  heart,  over  such  a  tremen- 
dous number  of  the  wounded,  it  took  us  some  time 
to  reach  the  end  of  this  long  line.  Their  groaning, 
hard  breathing,  suffering,  pain,  their  exposure  to  the 
night  dew  without  anything  to  cover  them  up,  was 
pitiful.  We  could  not  help  being  deeply  affected 
by  this  scene  of  misery. 

In  the  meantime  we  were  losing  our  way,  we 
could  not  find  Wuchia-fang,  but  suddenly  came 
into  the  headquarters  of  the  Ninth  Division.  Gen- 
eral Oshima,  the  commander,  was  seen  clad  in  his 
dark  winter  uniform  in  spite  of  the  season,  a  silk 
crepe  obi  tied  tightly  about  his  waist,  from  which 
a  long  Japanese  sword  was  hanging.  At  the  sight  of 
the  gallant  general  we  felt  as  if  we  were  in  a  region 
of  romance.  When  his  division  occupied  Panlung, 
General  Oshima  is  reported  to  have  stood  at  the 
head  of  his  army  in  this  dark  uniform,  making  him- 
self the  only  dark  target  for  the  enemy's  shot,  thus 
trying  to  inspire  his  men  with  courage  and  confi- 
dence. I  asked  the  way  of  a  staff-officer,  and  our 
company  turned  back  in  the  proper  direction.  We 
could  not,  however,  find  the  right  place;  we  asked 

220 


again,  and  were  told  to  go  to  the  right;  when  we 
went  to  the  right,  we  were  told  to  go  back  to  where 
we  started;  we  were  utterly  at  a  loss  where  to  go.  JZZL 
The  time  for  our  rendezvous  was  fixed  at  one  o'clock  «4— 
—it  was  now  only  a  little  before  that  time.  If  we 
should  fail  to  appear  on  the  spot  in  time,  it  would 
disgrace  us,  and  we  had  to  think  not  only  of  our 
personal  disgrace,  but  that  the  prospective  attack 
needed  as  many  fighters  as  possible.  The  delay  in 
our  arrival  might  become  a  cause  of  defeat.  The 
captain  and  all  of  us  were  extremely  anxious  and 
worried.  Fortunately,  however,  at  this  juncture 
we  came  across  a  man  belonging  to  the  engineer- 
corps,  who  minutely  explained  to  us  how  to  find 
Wuchia-fang,  telling  us  to  go  through  the  open- 
ing a  little  further  on,  where  our  engineers  were 
then  engaged  in  sapping.  We  went  on  as  in- 
structed and  soon  found  our  siege-trenches;  we 
went  along  these  until  we  came  to  an  opening,  be- 
yond which  we  had  to  go  through  the  fields  exposed 
to  the  enemy's  view.  We  ran  on,  but  presently  a 
flash  of  search-light  came!  "Lie  down!"  was  or- 
dered, and  we  waited,  holding  our  breath  for  that 
terrible  light  to  disappear.  But  the  search-light 
would  not  disappear.  Meanwhile  communication 
with  our  rear  was  cut  off.  At  last  we  came  to 
the  place  which  we  imagined  to  be  the  rendezvous. 
We  found  none  of  our  army  there,  but  dark  corpses 
were  strewn  on  the  ground.  Probably  our  army 

221 


had  already  gathered  themselves  at  the  foot  of  the 
East  Panlung  Fort,  which  was  supposed  to  be  the 
centre  of  our  attack.  Looking  at  our  watches,  we 
found  that  it  was  a  few  minutes  past  one  o'clock. 
We  tried  hard  to  find  our  main  body,  but  in  vain. 
Were  we  too  late  ?  The  anxiety  of  our  captain  was 
intense.  Our  disappointment  was  agonizing.  Were 
we  to  miss  our  opportunity  to  join  in  the  general 
assault  ?  The  captain  said,  "  I  cannot  expiate  my 
fault  even  with  suicide ! "  Not  only  he,  but  all  of  us, 
felt  that  if  we  failed  to  join  this  battle,  the  company 
itself  would  be  disgraced  forever;  and  that  com- 
pared with  that  disgrace  our  unanimous  suicide  was 
a  mere  trifle. 

Scouts  were  sent  in  all  directions,  but  none 
brought  back  any  news.  We  had  no  time  to  lose, 
so  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  best  thing 
we  could  do  now  was  to  go  to  the  old  fort  of  East 
Panlung  and  fight  even  single-handed,  and  that, 
if  the  main  body  had  begun  by  that  time,  we  should 
be  in  a  good  spot  to  join  its  action.  Thinking  that 
the  occasional  sound  of  a  machine-gun  that  we 
had  heard  must  be  coming  from  Panlung,  and  that 
a  ravine  we  had  found  must  lead  to  that  mountain, 
we  started  from  Wuchia-fang  along  the  ravine. 

Ah,  that  ravine !  a  narrow  path  of  less  than  two 
ken  in  width.  It  was  the  place  where  the  Ninth 
Division  and  the  Seventh  and  Ninth  Regiments  of 
the  Second  Reserve  had  had  such  a  hard  fight  the 

222 


day  before.  What  a  scene  of  horrors !  No  stretcher 
nor  medicine  chest  could  be  brought  there.    The 
dead  and  wounded  were  piled  one  upon  another    ^— 
in  nooks   and  corners,  some  groaning  with  pain,  •+— 
some  crying  for  help,  and  some  perfectly  quiet,   *T"* 
breathing  no  longer.    We  hardly  found  space  to    •**" 
walk  without  stepping  on  them.    It  was  an  infer- 
nal tunnel  of  the  dead  and  dying.   We  groped  to 
the  right  not  to  step  on  a  dead  comrade,  only  to 
kick  a  wounded  one  on  the  left.  Where  we  stepped, 
thinking  that  it  was  on  mother  earth,  we  found 
ourselves  walking  over    the    khaki-colored  dead. 
"Don't  step  on  the  corpses!"  I  shouted  to  my  men; 
but  at  that  very  moment  I  was  treading  on  the  chest 
of  one.    "Pardon,"  was  the  only  apology  I  could 
offer  the  dead  thus  unintentionally  insulted.  Along 
this  long,  narrow  path  full  of  corpses,  it  was  im- 
possible not  to  step  on  our  poor,  silent  comrades. 

We  were  almost  at  the  end  of  the  ravine — a  few 
steps  more  would  have  brought  us  face  to  face  with 
wire-entanglements  —  when  we  stopped  short  for  a 
while.  All  at  once  the  enemy's  machine-guns  be- 
gan at  our  left,  shooting  out  flames  of  fire  through 
the  dark.  Presently  we  heard  the  noise  of  a  gun 
detachment;  six  of  our  guns  were  trying  to  climb 
Panlung  through  the  same  ravine.  In  this  narrow 
pass  the  infantry  and  artillery  men  were  jumbled 
together  to  escape  the  fire  of  the  Russian  machine- 
guns. 

223 


We  were  now  at  the  foot  of  the  objective  moun- 
tain, but  no  trace  of  the  main  body  could  be  found. 
What  a  disappointment  and  pain  for  us!  Where 
was  it  ?  Was  the  expected  assault  postponed  ?  After 
a  great  deal  of  cogitation  the  captain  decided  to 
go  back  to  Wuchia-fang  and  wait  for  further  orders. 
This  was  his  deliberately  formed  conclusion,  and 
of  course  we  had  to  obey  him,  though  very  reluct- 
antly. Once  again  we  must  go  through  that  in- 
fernal tunnel.  Those  corpses  of  the  dead  comrades 
on  which  we  had  stepped  and  to  which  we  had 
apologized  in  horror  had  to  be  trodden  on  once 
more.  We  looked  for  the  dead  and  wounded  in  the 
dark  and  found  their  condition  still  worse  and  more 
miserable  than  before,  because  the  artillery- men 
had  been  through  the  same  place  after  us,  and 
many  dead  and  dying  had  been  run  over  by  the 
gun  carriages.  Those  who  had  been  breathing 
faintly  had  breathed  their  last  under  the  iron  wheels; 
those  who  had  already  died  were  cut  to  pieces. 
Shattered  bones,  torn  flesh,  flowing  blood,  were 
mingled  with  broken  swords  and  split  rifles.  What 
could  be  more  shocking  than  this  scene! 

We  went  back  to  the  entrance  of  the  ravine  and 
waited  there  for  a  while ;  at  last  group  after  group 
of  shadows  began  to  come  through  the  dark.  It 
was  our  main  body !  Our  joy  was  unbounded.  We 
learned  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  reach  the 
place  of  rendezvous  at  the  appointed  hour,  on  ac- 

224 


count  of  the  constant  hindrance  to  their  march  of- 
fered by  the  enemy's  search-lights.  We  breathed  a 
sigh  of  relief  in  thus  joining  the  main  body  at  last,  •<  •• 
and  rejoiced  over  the  prospect  of  forming  with  «*- 
them  the  advance  guard  of  the  first  general  assault.  "JT* 
This  place  of  gathering  did  not  shield  us  from  the  •**"• 
enemy's  fire,  nor  was  it  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date a  great  number  of  men;  it  was  only  protected 
by  a  precipice  that  would  prevent  the  enemy  from 
looking  down  upon  us.  Among  the  officers  who 
were  with  us  here  was  Major  Matsumura,  who  dis- 
tinguished himself  at  Taku-shan  after  its  capture 
by  our  army  by  resisting  and  repulsing  the  enemy's 
counter-attack.  He  had  sprained  his  right  foot  at 
that  time,  but  would  not  consent  to  receive  medical 
treatment  for  such  a  trifling  injury  as  he  called  it, 
and  was  still  doing  the  duty  of  a  battalion  com- 
mander. This  night  he  was  still  suffering  from  his 
foot;  but  supporting  himself  with  a  willow  stick, 
he  walked  on  at  the  head  of  his  battalion.  Sitting 
down  beside  me,  he  said,  "The  time  it  has  come 
at  last!" 

Captain  Segawa,  who  bade  that  sad  farewell  to 
his  younger  brother  at  Taku-shan,  was  also  there. 
Lieutenant  Sone  came  along  with  a  cartridge  belt 
round  his  waist  and  a  rifle  in  his  hand.  I  asked  him 
why  he  was  so  strangely  armed.  Upon  which  he 
said  that  he  had  lost  his  sword  during  the  scouting 
of  the  previous  night  and  had  therefore  armed  him- 

225 


self  like  a  private  soldier.  All  the  officers  gathered 
together  wished  each  other  success  and  chatted 
cheerfully  for  a  while.  Only  a  few  hours  later,  all 
of  them  had  been  killed  except  Major  Matsumura 
and  myself!  Whenever  I  think  of  it,  I  still  feel  as 
if  I  saw  their  faces  and  heard  their  voices.  Brave 
fellows!  Poor  men!  My  heart  is  full  of  strange 
emotions  when  I  think  of  them. 


/\ 

THE  FORLORN  HOPE 

WE  all  fell  in  under  the  precipice  and  were 
waiting  for  the  order  of  march,  when  a 
piece  of  paper  reached  me  handed  from  man  to 
man.    I  opened  it  and  read:  — 

"Yasukichi  Honda  was  shot  on  the  ipth,  and 
when  I  offered  him  a  drink  of  water  he  shed  tears 
and  asked  me  to  give  his  compliments  to  Lieuten- 
ant Sakurai.. 

(Signed)  "  BUNKICHI  TAKEO." 

This  Honda  had  been  my  servant  about  a  year 
before,  and  he  was  a  faithful  fellow.  His  last  words 
were  a  farewell  to  me  who  had  done  so  little  for  him. 
I  was  deeply  affected  by  his  loyal  devotion.  Even 
now  I  regret  I  had  no  chance  of  giving  him  a  fare- 
well hand-shake,  and  cannot  help  thinking  how 
greatly  he  would  have  rejoiced  if  I  could  have  given 
him  one  word  of  good- by  while  he  was  yet  alive. 

I  gathered  my  men  around  me  and  said:  "I  now 
bid  you  all  farewell.  Fight  with  all  your  might.  This 

227 


battle  will  decide  whether  Port  Arthur  is  to  fall  or 
not.  This  water  you  drink,  please  drink  as  if  at  your 
death  moment." 

I  filled  a  cup  with  water  that  was  fetched  by  one 
or  two  soldiers  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  and  we  all 
drank  farewell  from  the  same  cup.  Soon  we  re- 
ceived orders  to  advance  to  a  point  half-way  up 
the  side  of  Panlung.  We  began  to  move  on  quietly; 
we  who  had  already  drunk  together  the  death-cup 
went  again  through  that  same  terrible  ravine  full 
of  our  dead  comrades.  This  was  the  third  time 
that  we  had  traveled  by  this  path,  and  none  ex- 
pected to  walk  over  it  a  fourth  time  alive.  To  die 
under  the  flying  Flag  of  the  Rising  Sun,  and  to  die 
while  doing  splendid  service  to  one's  country,  was 
the  wish  and  resolve  of  every  heart.  Before  be- 
ginning this  final  march  to  the  battle-field,  we  all 
made  ourselves  as  light  as  possible;  we  carried 
with  us  just  enough  hard  biscuit,  "iron  rations," 
to  support  life  for  two  or  three  days;  the  rest  we 
left  behind.  My  khaki  uniform  was  decorated  by  a 
national  flag  hanging  from  my  belt,  a  Japanese 
towel  was  tied  around  my  neck.  I  wore  no  shoes, 
only  tabi l  on  my  feet,  and  my  whole  appearance 
was  like  that  of  a  dancer  at  a  summer  festival  in 
Tokyo.  I  carried  with  me  my  sword,  my  water 
bottle,  and  three  hard  biscuit.  Thus  armed  and 

1  Tabi,  the  Japanese  sock,  made  with  a  separate  place  for 
the  great  toe. 
228 


attired  I  was  to  appear  on  the  glorious  stage  of 
death. 

The  mere  thought  of  this  ravine  makes  one 
shudder  even  now.  We  jumped  over  or  stepped 
on  the  heaped- up  corpses  and  went  on  holding  our 
noses.  What  a  grief  it  was  to  have  to  tread  on  the 
bodies  of  our  heroic  dead!  I  found  one  wounded 
man  squatting  in  a  comer  groaning  with  pain.  I 
asked  him  where  he  was  wounded.  He  told  me 
that  his  legs  were  broken,  and  for  three  days  he  had 
had  no  single  grain  of  rice,  nor  a  single  drop  of 
water;  no  stretcher  had  appeared,  and  he  had  been 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  death  ever  since  he  fought 
and  fell.  I  gave  him  the  three  biscuit  I  had,  and 
told  him  to  eat  those  and  wait  patiently  for  the 
coming  of  our  bearer  company.  He  clasped  his 
hands  together  and  shed  tears  for  joy  and  grati- 
tude and  begged  me  to  tell  him  my  name.  I  was 
deeply  touched  by  this  experience.  "Farewell" 
was  the  only  thing  I  could  say  to  the  poor  fellow 
as  I  passed  on.  We  now  came  to  the  wire-entangle- 
ment of  PanluQg-shan. 

This  fortress  of  Panlung  had  been  captured  with 
the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Ninth  Division  and  the 
Seventh  and  Eighth  Regiments  of  the  Second  Re- 
serve, and  was  now  an  important  base  from  which  a 
general  assault  on  the  northern  forts  of  East  Kikuan 
and  Wantai  was  to  be  made.  This  critical  spot  was 
finally  taken  after  a  terrible  struggle  and  a  valiant 

229 


action  by  the  men  of  General  Oshima's  command. 
The  sad  story  was  eloquently  told  by  the  horrible 
sights  of  the  ravine.  While  running  through  the 
opening  in  the  wire-entanglement  beyond,  I  noticed 
many  engineers  and  infantry-men  dead,  piled  one 
upon  another,  caught  in  the  wire,  or  taking  hold 
with  both  arms  of  a  post,  or  grasping  the  iron  shears. 

When  we  reached  the  middle  of  the  side  of  Pan- 
lung,  I  saw  the  regimental  flag  that  I  used  to  carry, 
flying  above  our  heads  in  the  dark.  My  heart  leaped 
at  the  sight  of  the  dear  flag.  I  scrambled  up  to 
where  it  was  planted  and  came  face  to  face  with 
Colonel  Aoki,  with  whom  I  had  exchanged  fare- 
well salutations  at  the  foot  of  Taku-shan  some  days 
before. 

"Colonel,  I  am  Lieutenant  Sakurai!" 

He  looked  at  me  as  if  thinking  fondly  of  bygone 
days,  and  said: — 

"Are  you  Sakurai  ?  I  do  pray  for  your  success." 

After  this  word  from  my  commander,  how  could 
I  be  satisfied  without  doing  something?  I  must 
exert  myself  to  the  uttermost. 

Then  I  heard  a  voice  calling  my  name  from 
the  top  of  the  mountain,  so  I  bade  farewell  to  the 
colonel  and  went  on  to  the  top  to  find  Lieutenant 
Yoshida,  a  friend  of  mine  from  the  same  province, 
sitting  there  alone.  I  had  heard  of  his  being  in  the 
Ninth  Division,  fighting  before  Port  Arthur,  but  I 
did  not  expect  ever  to  meet  him.  To  see  an  old 

230 


friend  just  before  going  into  a  fierce  engagement 
was  touching. 

"Sakurai,  is  n't  it  fearful,  the  fighting  of  the  last  ^^ 
few  days?"  "-*•• 

Wondering  why  he  was  there,  I  asked:  "What    -i— 
are  you  doing  here  alone?" 

"Please  look  at  these  corpses!" 

There  were  dark  shadows  about  him  which  I 
had  thought  were  the  recruits  of  our  regiment.  I 
could  not  help  being  astonished  when  I  found  that 
those  heaps  of  khaki-colored  men  were  the  dead 
or  wounded  soldiers  of  Lieutenant  Yoshida's  com- 
mand. What  a  horrible  sight!  Their  bodies  were 
piled  up  two  or  three  or  even  four  deep;  some  had 
died  with  their  hands  on  the  enemy's  battery,  some 
had  successfully  gone  beyond  the  battery  and  were 
killed  grasping  the  gun-carriages.  A  sad  groaning 
came  from  the  wounded  who  were  buried  under 
the  dead.  When  this  gallant  assaulting  column  had 
pressed  upon  the  enemy's  forts,  stepping  over  their 
comrades'  bodies,  the  terrible  and  skillful  fire  of 
the  machine-guns  had  killed  them  all,  close  by  the 
forts,  piling  the  dead  upon  the  wounded.  The  men 
behind,  angry  at  their  comrades'  death,  attempted 
a  summary  revenge,  but  they  rushed  upon  the 
enemy  only  to  swell  the  number  of  the  dead,  and 
Lieutenant  Yoshida  felt  that  he  could  not  leave 
his  unfortunate  men,  and  was  watching  over  their 
remains  with  a  breaking  heart.  Later,  on  the 

231 


2yth  of  October,  he  fought  most  desperately  at 
Erhlung  and  died.  This  interview  at  the  top  of 
Panlung  was  our  last  good- by. 

As  soon  as  we  were  gathered  together  the  colonel 
rose  and  gave  us  a  final  word  of  exhortation,  say- 
ing: "This  battle  is  our  great  chance  of  serving 
our  country.  To-night  we  must  strike  at  the  vitals 
of  Port  Arthur.  Our  brave  assaulting  column  must 
be  not  simply  a  forlorn-hope  ('resolved-to-die'), 
but  a  'sure-death'  detachment.  I  as  your  father 
am  more  grateful  than  I  can  express  for  your  gal- 
lant fighting.  Do  your  best,  all  of  you." 

Yes,  we  were  all  ready  for  death  when  leaving 
Japan.  Men  going  to  battle  of  course  cannot  ex- 
pect to  come  back  alive.  But  in  this  particular 
battle  to  be  ready  for  death  was  not  enough;  what 
was  required  of  us  was  a  determination  not  to  fail 
to  die.  Indeed,  we  were  "sure-death"  men,  and 
this  new  appellation  gave  us  a  great  stimulus.  Also 
a  telegram  that  had  come  from  the  Minister  of 
War  in  Tokyo,  was  read  by  the  aide-de-camp, 
which  said,  "I  pray  for  your  success."  This  in- 
creased the  exaltation  of  our  spirits. 

Let  me  now  recount  the  sublimity  and  horror  of 
this  general  assault.  I  was  a  mere  lieutenant  and 
everything  passed  through  my  mind  as  in  a  dream, 
so  my  story  must  be  something  like  picking  out 
things  from  the  dark.  I  can't  give  you  any  sys- 
tematic account,  but  must  limit  myself  to  fragment- 

232 


ary  recollections.  If  this  story  sounds  like  a  vain- 
glorious account  of  my  own  achievements,  it  is  not 
because  I  am  conscious  of  my  merit  when  I  have 
so  little  to  boast  of,  but  because  the  things  concern- 
ing  me  and  near  me  are  what  I  can  tell  you  with 
authority.  If  this  partial  account  prove  a  clue  from 
which  the  whole  story  of  this  terrible  assault  may 
be  inferred,  my  work  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 

The  men  of  the  "sure-death"  detachment  rose 
to  their  part.  Fearlessly  they  stepped  forward  to 
the  place  of  death.  They  went  over  Panlung-shan 
and  made  their  way  through  the  piled-up  bodies 
of  the  dead,  groups  of  five  or  six  soldiers  reaching 
the  barricaded  slope  one  after  another. 

I  said  to  the  colonel,  "Good-by,  then!" 

With  this  farewell  I  started,  and  my  first  step 
was  on  the  head  of  a  corpse.  Our  objective  points 
were  the  Northern  Fortress  and  Wang-tai  Hill. 

There  was  a  fight  with  bombs  at  the  enemy's 
skirmish-trenches.  The  bombs  sent  from  our  side 
exploded  finely,  and  the  place  became  at  once  a 
conflagration,  boards  were  flung  about,  sand  bags 
burst,  heads  flew  around,  legs  were  torn  off.  The 
flames  mingled  with  the  smoke,  lighted  up  our 
faces  weirdly,  with  a  red  glare,  and  all  at  once  the 
battle-line  became  confused.  Then  the  enemy, 
thinking  it  hopeless,  left  the  place  and  began  to 
flee.  "Forward!  forward!  Now  is  the  time  to  go 
forward!  Forward!  Pursue!  Capture  it  with  one 

233 


bound! "  and,  proud  of  our  victory,  we  went  forward 
courageously. 

Captain  Kawakami,  raising  his  sword,  cried, 
"Forward!"  and  then  I,  standing  close  by  him, 
cried,  "Sakurai's  company,  forward!" 

Thus  shouting  I  left  the  captain's  side,  and,  in 
order  to  see  the  road  we  were  to  follow,  went  be- 
hind the  rampart.  What  is  that  black  object  which 
obstructs  our  view  ?  It  is  the  ramparts  of  the  North- 
ern Fortress.  Looking  back,  I  did  not  see  a  soldier. 
Alack,  had  the  line  been  cut  ?  In  trepidation,  keep- 
ing my  body  to  the  left  for  safety,  I  called  the 
Twelfth  Company. 

"Lieutenant  Sakurai!"  a  voice  called  out  re- 
peatedly in  answer.  Returning  in  the  direction  of 
the  sound,  I  found  Corporal  Ito  weeping  loudly. 

"  What  are  you  crying  for  ?  What  has  happened  ?  " 

The  corporal,  weeping  bitterly,  gripped  my  arm 
tightly. 

"Lieutenant  Sakurai,  you  have  become  an  im- 
portant person." 

"What  is  there  to  weep  about?  I  say,  what  is 
the  matter?" 

He  whispered  in  my  ear,  "Our  captain  is  dead." 

Hearing  this,  I  too  wept.  Was  it  not  only  a  mo- 
ment ago  that  he  had  given  the  order  "  Forward  "  ? 
Was  it  not  even  now  that  I  had  separated  from 
him?  And  yet  our  captain  was  one  of  the  dead. 
In  one  moment  our  tender,  pitying  Captain  Kawa- 

234 


kami  and  I  had  become  beings  of  two  separate 
worlds.  Was  it  a  dream  or  a  reality,  I  wondered  ? 

Corporal  Ito  pointed  out  the  captain's  body,  — • 
which  had  fallen  inside  the  rampart  only  a  few  rods  •— *— 
away.  I  hastened  thither  and  raised  him  in  my  —A— 
arms. 

"Captain!"   I  could  not  say  a  word  more. 

But  as  matters  could  not  remain  thus,  I  took  the 
secret  map  which  the  captain  had,  and,  rising  up 
boldly,  called  out,  "From  henceforward  I  com- 
mand the  Twelfth  Company."  And  I  ordered  that 
some  one  of  the  wounded  should  carry  back  the 
captain's  corpse.  A  wounded  soldier  was  just  about 
to  raise  it  up  when  he  was  struck  on  a  vital  spot 
and  died  leaning  on  the  captain.  One  after  another 
of  the  soldiers  who  took  his  place  was  struck  and 
fell. 

I  called  Sub-Lieutenant  Ninomiya  and  asked 
him  if  the  sections  were  together. 

He  answered  in  the  affirmative.  I  ordered  Cor- 
poral Ito  not  to  let  the  line  be  cut,  and  told  him 
that  I  would  be  in  the  centre  of  the  skirmishers. 
In  the  darkness  of  the  night  we  could  not  distin- 
guish the  features  of  the  country,  nor  in  which 
direction  we  were  to  march.  Standing  up  abruptly 
against  the  dark  sky  were  the  Northern  Fortress 
and  Wang-tai  Hill.  In  front  of  us  lay  a  natural 
stronghold,  and  we  were  in  a  caldron- shaped  hol- 
low. But  still  we  marched  on  side  by  side. 

235 


"The  Twelfth  Company  forward!" 

I  turned  to  the  right  and  went  forward  as  in  a 
dream.  I  remember  nothing  clearly  of  the  time. 

"Keep  the  line  together!  " 

This  was  my  one  command.  Presently  I  ceased 
to  hear  the  voice  of  Corporal  Ito,  who  had  been 
at  my  right  hand.  The  bayonets  gleaming  in  the 
darkness  became  fewer.  The  black  masses  of  sol- 
diers who  had  pushed  their  way  on  now  became 
a  handful.  All  at  once,  as  if  struck  by  a  club,  I  fell 
down  sprawling  on  the  ground.  I  was  wounded, 
struck  in  my  right  hand.  The  splendid  magnesium 
light  of  the  enemy  flashed  out,  showing  the  piled- 
up  bodies  of  the  dead,  and  I  raised  my  wounded 
hand  and  looked  at  it.  It  was  broken  at  the  wrist; 
the  hand  hung  down  and  was  bleeding  profusely. 
I  took  out  the  already  loosened  bundle  of  band- 
ages, *  tied  up  my  wound  with  the  triangular  piece, 
and  then  wrapping  a  handkerchief  over  it,  I  slung 
it  from  my  neck  with  the  sunrise  flag,  which  I  had 
sworn  to  plant  on  the  enemy's  fortress. 

Looking  up,  I  saw  that  only  a  valley  lay  between 
me  and  Wang-tai  Hill,  which  almost  touched  the 
sky.  I  wished  to  drink  and  sought  at  my  waist,  but 
the  canteen  was  gone;  its  leather  strap  alone  was 
entangled  in  my  feet.  The  voices  of  the  soldiers 
were  lessening  one  by  one.  In  contrast,  the  glare 

1  The  "  first    aid "  bandages,  prepared  by  the   Red  Cross 
Society,  issued  to  every  soldier  as  part  of  his  equipment. 
236 


of  the  rockets  of  the  hated  enemy  and  the  frightful 
noise  of  the  cannonading  increased.  I  slowly  rubbed 
my  legs,  and,  seeing  that  they  were  unhurt,  I  again 
rose.  Throwing  aside  the  sheath  of  my  sword,  I 
carried  the  bare  blade  in  my  left  hand  as  a  staff, 
went  down  the  slope  as  in  a  dream,  and  climbed 
Wang-tai  Hill. 

The  long  and  enormously  heavy  guns  were  tower- 
ing before  me,  and  how  few  of  my  men  were  left 
alive  now!  I  shouted  and  told  the  survivors  to  fol- 
low me,  but  few  answered  my  call.  When  I  thought 
that  the  other  detachments  must  also  have  been 
reduced  to  a  similar  condition,  my  heart  began  to 
fail  me.  No  reinforcement  was  to  be  hoped  for, 
so  I  ordered  a  soldier  to  climb  the  rampart  and 
plant  the  sun  flag  overhead,  but  alas!  he  was  shot 
and  killed,  without  even  a  sound  or  cry. 

All  of  a  sudden  a  stupendous  sound  as  from  an- 
other world  rose  around  about  me. 

"Counter-assault!" 

A  detachment  of  the  enemy  appeared  on  the 
rampart,  looking  like  a  dark  wooden  barricade. 
They  surrounded  us  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  and 
raised  a  cry  of  triumph.  Our  disadvantageous 
position  would  not  allow  us  to  offer  any  resistance, 
and  our  party  was  too  small  to  fight  them.  We  had 
to  fall  back  down  the  steep  hill.  Looking  back,  I 
saw  the  Russians  shooting  at  us  as  they  pursued. 
When  we  reached  the  earthworks  before  mentioned, 

237 


we  made  a  stand  and  faced  the  enemy.  Great  con- 
fusion and  infernal  butchery  followed.  Bayonets 
clashed  against  bayonets;  the  enemy  brought  out 
machine-guns  and  poured  shot  upon  us  pell-mell; 
the  men  on  both  sides  fell  like  grass.  But  I  cannot 
give  you  a  detailed  account  of  the  scene,  because 
I  was  then  in  a  dazed  condition.  I  only  remember 
that  I  was  brandishing  my  sword  in  fury.  I  also 
felt  myself  occasionally  cutting  down  the  enemy. 
I  remember  a  confused  fight  of  white  blade  against 
white  blade,  the  rain  and  hail  of  shell,  a  desperate 
fight  here  and  a  confused  scuffle  there.  At  last  I 
grew  so  hoarse  that  I  could  not  shout  any  more. 
Suddenly  my  sword  broke  with  a  clash,  my  left 
arm  was  pierced.  I  fell,  and  before  I  could  rise  a 
shell  came  and  shattered  my  right  leg.  I  gathered 
all  my  strength  and  tried  to  stand  up,  but  I  felt  as 
if  I  were  crumbling  and  fell  to  the  ground  perfectly 
powerless.  A  soldier  who  saw  me  fall  cried,  "Lieu- 
tenant Sakurai,  let  us  die  together." 

I  embraced  him  with  my  left  arm  and,  gnashing 
my  teeth  with  regret  and  sorrow,  I  could  only  watch 
the  hand-to-hand  fight  going  on  about  me.  My 
mind  worked  like  that  of  a  madman,  but  my  body 
would  not  move  an  inch. 


LIFE   OUT   OF  DEATH 

THE  day  of  the  24th  of  August  dawned  upon 
a  battle-ground  covered  with  the  dead  and 
wounded  of  both  sides.  I  discovered  that  the  man 
in  my  arms  was  Kensuke  Ono,  a  soldier  whom 
I  had  trained.  He  was  wounded  in  the  right  eye 
and  pierced  through  the  side.  Thinking  that  he 
could  not  live,  he  had  called  my  name  and  offered 
to  die  with  me.  Poor,  dear  fellow!  My  left  arm  that 
embraced  him  was  covered  with  dark  red  clots  of 
blood,  which  was  running  over  Ono's  neck.  Ono 
removed  my  arm,  quietly  pulled  out  his  bandages, 
and  bound  up  my  left  arm.  Thus  I  lay  surrounded 
by  the  enemy  and  seriously  wounded ;  there  seemed 
no  slightest  hope  of  my  escape.  If  I  did  not  expire 
then,  it  was  certain  that  I  should  soon  be  in  the 
enemy's  hands,  which  meant  a  misfortune  far  more 
intolerable  than  death.  My  heart  yearned  to  com- 
mit suicide  before  such  a  disgrace  should  befall 
me,  but  I  had  no  weapon  with  me,  no  hand  that 
could  help  me  in  the  act.  Tears  of  regret  choked 
me. 

239 


"Ono,  please  kill  me  and  go  back  and  report 
the  conditions,"  I  urged  him.  I  begged  him  to  kill 
me,  but  he  would  not  consent.  He  was  almost 
blind,  for  both  his  eyes  were  covered  with  blood, 
but  he  grasped  his  rifle  and  said,  "I  resist  your 
orders." 

I  expostulated  with  him  and  explained  our  posi- 
tion, saying  that  the  enemy  had  changed  their  at- 
titude to  a  counter-attack  and  we  were  already 
surrounded  by  them ;  beside  that,  we  had  gone  far 
into  the  enemy's  ground  since  the  previous  night, 
so  that  if  we  remained  in  that  helpless  state  we  were 
sure  of  being  made  prisoners.  Then  I  asked  him 
how  he  felt  about  becoming  a  captive  of  the  Rus- 
sians, and  told  him  that  it  was  a  far  greater  mercy 
to  me  who  could  not  move  a  limb  for  him  to  kill 
me  at  once  and  make  good  his  escape.  But  Ono 
was  already  losing  his  reason  and  simply  continued 
saying,  "I  resist  your  orders."  There  was  no  other 
help,  and  I  resigned  myself  to  dying  where  I  was. 
At  the  same  time  I  was  extremely  anxious  to  send 
Ono  and  let  him  report  the  condition  of  affairs  at 
the  present  moment.  So  as  a  means  to  make  him 
go  I  said,  "  Bring  me  a  stretcher  and  I  will  go,"  and 
urged  him  to  hurry  up.  Of  course  I  knew  full  well 
that,  since  that  incarnation  of  love  in  the  shape  of 
a  stretcher  company  could  not  reach  the  ravine, 
much  less  could  it  come  to  this  spot  encircled  by 
the  enemy,  my  only  hope  was  that  he  might  thus 

240 


have  a  chance  of  returning  alive  to  our  main  body 
and  also  of  reporting  my  death.  Ono,  in  a  state  of 
frenzy,  jumped  up  at  my  words,  and  saying, "  Please  •— 
wait  here,"  ran  over  to  the  earthworks  and  dis-  "•*•• 
appeared.  Would  he  successfully  go  through  the 
enemy's  investment,  back  to  our  main  position? 
Later,  when  I  found  him  in  a  hospital,  I  was  aston- 
ished at  his  good  fortune. 

I  was  thus  left  lying  alone  surrounded  by  dead 
and  dying.  This  moment  was  the  most  hallowed, 
the  most  painfully  sad,  and  the  most  exasperating 
in  my  life.  I  repeated  to  myself  Nelson's  words, 
"Thank  heaven,  I  have  done  my  duty!"  and  com- 
forted myself  with  the  idea  that,  though  doomed  to 
failure,  I  had  done  my  whole  life's  work.  I  thought 
of  nothing  else.  I  was  only  conscious  that  the  life- 
blood  of  a  man  twenty-five  years  of  age  was  fast 
flowing  to  its  speedy  exhaustion,  but  did  not  feel 
the  pain  of  the  wounds  at  all.  A  number  of  the 
Russians  were  going  to  and  fro  in  the  trenches  only 
a  few  ken  from  me  and  firing  at  our  surviving  men, 
each  Russian  using  five  or  six  rifles  in  turn.  While 
I  was  watching  their  action  with  wide-open  eyes, 
one  of  them  turned  back  and  noticed  my  being 
still  alive.  He  signaled  to  the  others,  and  three  or 
four  shots  visited  me  at  once.  They  fixed  their 
bayonets  and  came  jumping  toward  me.  I  shut 
my  eyes.  I  was  about  to  be  butchered.  My  body 
was  not  of  iron  and  stone  to  begin  with,  and  its 

241 


limbs  were  shattered  and  had  no  power  to  resist 
or  chase  the  enemy.  I  could  not  escape  from  the 
poisonous  teeth  of  the  wolves.  But  Providence  had 
not  forsaken  me  yet.  At  this  critical  moment  I  only 
heard  the  din  of  a  close  fight  near  me,  but  was 
spared  the  point  of  an  unknown  savage's  bayonet. 
As  they  rushed  toward  me,  five  or  six  of  our  sur- 
vivors encountered  them,  fought  them,  and  all 
fell.  And  I  who  had  had  nothing  but  sure  death 
to  wait  for  was  saved  at  the  cost  of  my  poor  com- 
rades' lives.  By  this  sacrifice  was  my  faint  breathing 
continued. 

At  this  juncture  a  man  jumped  up  the  earth- 
works with  a  loud  yell,  and  his  sword  raised  high 
in  the  air.  Who  was  this  brave  fellow  who  stormed 
the  enemy's  trenches  single-handed?  I  was  aston- 
ished at  his  audacity.  But  alas !  a  shot  came  flying 
from  somewhere,  hit  him,  and  he  fell  at  my  right 
side,  as  if  crumbling  down.  He  faced  death  as  if 
returning  home.  He  had  jumped  up  there  bravely 
all  alone  to  seek  death,  and  attracted  the  enemy's 
attention  by  his  triumphant  cry. 

After  a  while  the  shells  from  the  Japanese  army 
began  to  burst  briskly  above  our  heads.  Percus- 
sion balls  fell  around  us  and  hurled  up  smoke  and 
blood  together.  Legs,  hands,  and  necks  were  cut 
into  black  fragments,  and  scattered  about.  I  shut 
my  eyes  in  perfect  resignation  and  prayed  that  my 
agony  might  be  put  to  a  speedy  end  by  my  being 

242 


shattered  to  pieces  all  at  once.  Still  no  shell  came 
to  break  my  flesh  and  bones,  but  only  small  frag- 
ments came  and  injured  my  already  wounded 
limbs.  One  wounded  soldier  who  was  near  me  re- 
ceived  one  of  those  horrible  fragments  on  the  face. 
He  writhed  for  a  few  minutes,  then  fell  on  his  face 
and  expired.  Every  moment  I  expected  to  meet  a 
similar  fate ;  or  to  be  eaten  by  the  hungry  dogs  and 
wolves  of  the  field,  half  dead,  half  alive,  yet  unable 
to  resist  my  fate.  I  was  being  picked  off  inch  by 
inch  by  the  fierce  eagle  of  the  north.  I  heard  some 
one  crying  "  Nippon  Banzai "  at  my  head.  I  opened 
my  eyes  and  dimly  discovered  that  is  was  a  poor, 
wounded  man.  His  reason  was  all  gone,  yet  he  did 
not  forget  to  shout  Banzai  for  his  Fatherland. 
He  repeated  Banzai  over  and  over  again,  and  also 
shouted  "Come,  come,  Japanese  soldiers!"  He 
danced,  jumped,  and  shouted  in  frenzy  until  he 
was  exhausted,  then  he  closed  his  lips  and  his 
color  began  to  fade.  I  shut  my  eyes  and  prayed 
that  he  might  go  in  peace. 

The  blood  from  my  wounds  had  dyed  my  body 
red  all  over.  My  arms  were  bandaged,  but  all  the 
other  wounds  were  left  uncovered.  Sometimes  I 
shut  my  eyes  in  quiet  thought  and  again  opened 
them  to  stare  about  me.  To  my  left  I  saw  two 
Japanese  soldiers  lying  dead  under  the  flying  Ris- 
ing Sun.  Probably  the  flag  had  been  planted  there 
by  these  two  heroes,  but  if  our  men  pushed  forward 

243 


to  it,  the  enemy  were  sure  to  shoot  them  down; 
while,  if  the  Russians  attempted  to  retake  the  spot, 
they  were  equally  sure  of  being  killed  by  our  artil- 
lery. This  dauntless  pair  had  kept  the  spot  unto 
death,  and  they  must  have  died  smiling  and  con- 
tented at  their  success.  Is  this  not  a  fine  piece  of 
poetry  in  itself?  What  poet  will  sing  these  heroes 
to  posterity! 

As  I  was  faintly  smiling  over  this  poetic  sight  of 
the  battle-field,  I  saw  the  most  brutal  act  com- 
mitted that  I  could  have  imagined.  Ah,  men  and 
women  of  a  civilization  of  justice  and  mercy,  please 
remember  this  fact!  I  have  already  told  you  of  a 
savage  Russian  who  butchered  Captain  Yanagawa 
wantonly.  Here  again,  before  my  very  eyes,  I  saw 
a  Russian  commit  a  most  deliberate  act  of  cruelty 
and  barbarism.  I  had  noticed  a  Russian  officer 
repeatedly  pointing  to  his  wounded  leg  and  making 
signs  with  his  hands  for  help.  Later  I  saw  a  Jap- 
anese hospital  orderly,  himself  wounded,  go  up  to 
the  Russian.  Without  attending  to  his  own  wound, 
he  took  out  bandages  from  a  bag  at  his  waist  and 
bandaged  the  Russian.  He  did  his  duty  of  love 
and  mercy  faithfully,  thinking  that  the  wounded 
foe  was  not  a  foe  any  more,  only  a  hero  who  had 
toiled  for  his  own  country.  His  kindness  in  dress- 
ing the  wound  of  the  Russian  was  so  beautiful  and 
holy  that  tearful  gratitude  was  due  to  him  even 
from  a  hard-hearted  savage.  But  how  did  this 

244 


Russian  return  the  kindness  of  this  hospital  orderly  ? 
Tears  of  gratitude  ?  No !  A  hand-shake  of  thanks  ? 
No!  Indeed,  no!  Lo,  this  beastly  Russian  officer 
bestowed  a  pistol  shot  upon  his  Japanese  bene- 
factor!  Do  not  forget  this,  you  people  of  justice  and 
humanity!  As  soon  as  the  orderly  had  finished 
bandaging,  the  Russian  pulled  out  his  revolver 
from  his  hip  and  took  the  life  of  the  good  Samaritan 
with  one  shot!  My  heart  was  bursting  with  indig- 
nation at  the  sight  of  this  atrocious  outrage! 

But  my  indignation,  my  exasperation,  could  not 
be  translated  into  action.  I  simply  shut  my  eyes 
and  gnashed  my  teeth;  soon  my  breathing  became 
difficult.  I  felt  that  my  life  was  fast  ebbing,  when 
some  one  caught  hold  of  my  coat  and  raised  me; 
after  a  minute  I  was  let  alone.  I  slightly  opened  my 
eyes  and  dimly  saw  two  or  three  Russians  going  up 
the  hill.  I  had  been  on  the  point  of  being  made 
a  prisoner!  That  very  moment  when  I  was  raised 
and  laid  down  was  the  boundary-line  between  my 
life  and  death,  between  my  honor  and  disgrace! 
The  enemy  caught  hold  of  me  once,  but  soon  let  me 
go ;  probably  they  thought  I  was  dead.  No  wonder 
they  thought  so,  for  I  was  covered  with  blood. 

Then  some  one  came  running  stealthily  to  my 
side  and  fell  down  without  a  word.  Was  he  dead  ? 
No,  he  was  simply  feigning  death.  After  a  while 
he  whispered  in  my  ear:  "Let  us  go  back.  I  will 
help  you." 

245 


In  the  midst  of  my  panting,  irregular  breathing, 
I  looked  at  the  man.  He  was  a  stranger  to  me,  a 
private  with  his  head  bandaged.  I  replied  to  his 
very  kind  offer  and  said  that  I  could  never  get  back 
alive  under  the  circumstances,  and  wished  him  to 
kill  me  and  go  himself  if  he  could.  He  said  that  he 
could  not  expect  to  get  me  back  alive,  but  that  he 
would  at  least  carry  my  body;  he  would  not  allow 
it  to  be  left  among  the  enemy.  As  soon  as  he  had 
said  this,  he  caught  my  left  arm  and  put  it  on  his 
shoulder.  At  this  juncture,  the  brave  fellow  who 
was  lying  at  my  right,  and  who  had  been  groaning 
for  some  time,  said  in  a  faltering,  tearful  voice :  — 

"Lieutenant,  please  give  me  the  last  cup  of 
water."  My  heart  was  bursting  with  emotion,  and 
I  fell  down  by  his  side  in  spite  of  my  helper. 
This  poor  fellow  was  probably  one  of  my  men;  he 
asked  me  to  send  him  out  on  his  last  journey.  Poor, 
poor  soul!  Of  course  I  could  not  force  myself  to 
go  and  leave  my  poor  comrade  alone. 

"Have  you  any  water?"  I  asked  my  helper. 
Whereupon  he  took  out  his  water  bottle,  stepped 
over  my  chest,  and  poured  water  into  the  mouth 
of  the  dying  man,  who  put  his  shattered  hands  to- 
gether as  in  supplication  and  murmuring  "Namu- 
Amida-Butsu! l  Namu-Amida-Butsu!"  like  a  faint 
echo,  slowly  drew  his  last  breath. 

I  had  no  heart  to  leave  behind  other  comrades, 

1  "I  adore  thee,  O  Eternal  Buddha!" 
246 


dead  or  wounded,  and  seek  my  own  safety.  But 
my  kind  helper  grasped  my  left  arm  once  again, 
raised  me  on  his  back,  and  in  one  bound  leaped 
over  the  earthwork,  when  both  of  us  went  down 
with  a  thud.  Quickly  he  picked  up  an  overcoat 
and  covered  me  with  it,  and  again  in  silence  lay 
down  by  my  side.  In  this  way  I  was  taken  out  of 
the  trenches  on  the  back  of  an  unknown  soldier. 
It  was  while  being  thus  carried  that  my  legs  touched 
a  corner  of  the  earthwork,  and  I  felt  excruciating 
pain  for  the  first  time.  After  a  while  he  whispered 
to  me  again,  "As  the  shot  are  coming  fast  now,  we 
must  wait  a  little."  He  unsheathed  his  bayonet  and 
bound  it  as  a  splint  to  my  broken  leg  with  a  Japan- 
ese towel.  I  was  very  thirsty  and  wanted  to  drink; 
he  gave  me  all  that  was  left  in  his  bottle,  saying, 
"  Don't  drink  much."  And  also  he  soothed  me  often, 
saying,  "Please  be  patient  awhile."  I  saw  many 
comrades  groaning  and  writhing  about  me,  and  my 
kind  helper  would  pick  up  water  bottles  scattered 
over  the  place  and  give  them  drink.  Often  he 
would  feign  death  to  escape  the  enemy's  eyes,  and 
lie  down  quickly,  covering  me  with  his  body.  I  did 
not  yet  know  even  the  name  of  this  chivalrous  man. 

"  What  is  your  name  ? "  I  asked. 

"  My  name  is  Takesaburo  Kondo,"  he  answered, 
in  a  whisper. 

"Which  regiment?" 

"I  am  in  the  Kochi  regiment." 

247 


I  was  being  saved  by  a  gallant  soldier,  who  was 
neither  my  subordinate,  nor  of  the  same  regiment 
as  myself,  and  whom  I  had  never  seen  before.  What 
mysterious  thread  of  fortune  bound  him  and  me 
together?  I  could  not  explain  the  mystery,  but  I 
do  know  that  it  was  the  friendly,  brotherly  spirit 
pervading  all  ranks  of  our  army  that  produced 
such  a  man  as  Kondo,  whose  name  should  be 
handed  down  to  posterity  as  a  model  soldier  and  a 
heroic  character.  A  few  hours  after  I  had  been 
rescued,  I  fell  into  a  state  of  complete  unconscious- 
ness. When  at  last  I  recovered  my  senses,  the  first 
thing  that  came  to  my  mind  was  the  beloved  name 
of  Kondo. 

Brave  Takesaburo!  He  not  only  rescued  me 
from  the  encircling  enemy  of  Wantai,  but  also  with 
great  difficulty  carried  me  to  our  main  position.  It 
was  daytime  and  the  place  was  exposed  to  the 
Russian  machine-guns.  He  himself  was  wounded. 
If  he  had  left  me  there,  me  whose  life  was  more 
than  uncertain,  and  escaped  to  a  safe  place  by  him- 
self, things  would  have  been  much  simpler  for  him. 
But  he  had  sworn  to  help  me,  and  that  promise  was 
more  important  to  him  than  his  own  life.  He  braved 
every  danger,  bore  every  difficulty,  and  with  won- 
derful tact  and  sagacity  made  use  of  every  possible 
device  in  my  rescue,  and  he  was  under  no  personal 
obligation  to  me.  For  a  while  he  covered  and  pro- 
tected me  with  his  body,  then  he  said  to  me: — 

248 


"Although  a  great  many  shot  are  still  falling 
about  us,  we  must  not  stay  here  till  night,  or  the 
enemy  are  sure  to  come  and  kill  us.    We  must  go   — 
now.  Please  consider  yourself  already  dead."  — -j— • 

He  wrapped  me  up  with  an  overcoat  and  beckoned 
to  another  soldier  near  by.  The  wounded  man  came 
crawling  to  my  side  and,  when  he  saw  me,  said: — 

"Are  you  not  Lieutenant  Sakurai?" 

I  did  not  know  who  he  was,  but  he  must  have 
been  of  the  same  regiment  as  myself,  since  he  knew 
me.  He  said  to  me,  "How  badly  you  are  injured!" 
and  whispered  with  Takesaburo.  Then  I  was  car- 
ried away  by  these  two  men  and  left  behind  me 
Wantai,  now  the  grave  of  the  unconsoled  spirits 
of  my  dear  comrades,  thinking  all  the  time  that  it 
was  a  great  shame  to  go  back  alone,  leaving  the 
dead  and  wounded  friends  behind.  My  two  helpers 
would  lie  down  every  five  or  ten  steps  as  if  they 
were  dead,  and  try  to  deceive  the  enemy's  vigilance. 
While  being  thus  carried  I  felt  no  pain,  only  a  very 
unpleasant  grating  of  broken  bones.  We  went  past 
wire-entanglements  and  breastworks,  and  in  the 
burning,  straight,  noonday  rays  of  the  sun,  I  was 
finally  brought  to  a  ravine  a  little  below  the  wire- 
entanglement,  and  I  thought  the  place  was  the  foot 
of  Kikuan. 

I  was  laid  down  here  for  some  time,  and  at  last 
began  to  feel  faint  and  dizzy,  and  everything  went 
out  of  my  consciousness  as  in  sleep.  This  was 

249 


caused  by  the  profuse  bleeding.  At  this  time  I  was 
counted  among  the  dead;  the  report  of  my  death 
reached  home.  My  teacher,  Mr.  Murai,  placed  the 
postal  card  I  had  written  to  him  in  the  family 
shrine1  and  offered  to  my  spirit  incense  and  flowers, 
as  I  have  since  been  told. 

For  some  hours  I  was  practically  dead  in  this 
ravine,  but  the  gate  of  the  other  world  was  still 
closed  against  me  and  I  began  to  breathe  once  more. 
The  first  thing  that  I  heard  was  a  tremendous  noise 
of  a  heavy  cannon-ball  falling  near  me,  throwing 
up  sand  and  pebbles,  and  covering  me  with  dust. 

I  felt  that  it  was  this  roar  that  called  my  spirit 
back  into  this  world.  As  soon  as  I  recovered  con- 
sciousness, my  wounds  began  to  hurt  terribly.  I 
tried  to  move  my  comparatively  sound  right  leg, 
but  it  would  not  move;  the  blood  gushed  out  of 
it  and  coagulated  over  it.  I  noticed  that  a  sun 
flag  was  spread  over  my  face  as  an  awning  and  that 
Takesaburo  Kondo  was  still  by  my  side  watching 
me.  I  thanked  him  for  his  faithful  service  with 
tears  of  gratitude. 

He  fastened  poles  to  the  overcoat  wrapping  me 
and  begged  four  or  five  wounded  men  who  hap- 
pened to  come  along  to  help  carry  me  to  the  first 
aid.  Lifting  a  corner  of  the  flag  that  covered  my 
face,  he  said:  "Lieutenant,  it  seems  that  my  wound 

1  The  "  Buddha  Shelf,"  the  shrine  in  the  house  where  are 
kept  the  tablets  of  the  dead. 
250 


is  not  a  serious  one,  as  I  am  not  going  to  the  rear. 
Your  case  is  serious.    Please  take  good  care  of 
yourself  and  become  well  again,"  and  he  left  me  at   •    i» 
last.  I  never  saw  him  again.  •!  ' 

Did  I  take  his  hand  and  thank  him  for  his  gallant 
service  ?  No;  I  could  not.  I  only  wept  for  his  good- 
ness with  unbounded  gratitude  in  my  heart  and 
prayed  that  he  might  be  spared.  "To  share  the 
shadow  of  the  same  tree,  to  drink  from  the  same 
stream  of  water,"  is  said  to  be  the  promise  of  meet- 
ing again  in  another  world.  But  he  voluntarily 
threw  himself  into  the  boiling  caldron  of  danger 
and  rescued  me  out  of  certain  death;  he  was  truly 
the  giver  of  my  renewed  life.  My  present  life  is  not 
mine  at  all ;  I  should  have  died  in  Bodai  surely: 
that  I  now  live  is  due  to  Takesaburo  Kondo  alone. 
Kondo  was  killed  within  a  month  after  this!  His 
spirit  is  now  too  far  away  to  see  me,  whom  he  res- 
cued amid  such  great  difficulties  and  dangers. 
When  I  think  of  this  I  cannot  cry  out  my  sorrow 
or  talk  about  my  sentiments,  because  both  the  cry 
and  the  words  become  choked  in  my  throat. 

During  the  night  four  or  five  wounded  soldiers 
took  advantage  of  the  darkness  to  carry  me  past 
the  enemy's  front  to  the  first  aid,  which  they  found 
with  difficulty.  I  was  still  faint  and  in  a  dreamy 
state  and  could  not  take  in  much;  the  only  thing  I 
remember  is  that  I  was  put  on  a  stretcher,  without 
removing  overcoat  and  poles  on  which  I  had  been 

251 


borne  thus  far.  At  last  I  was  laid  down  in  a  spot 
where  people  were  busy  running  to  and  fro.  That 
was  indeed  the  first  aid  station.  As  soon  as  I  real- 
ized this,  I  cried  out :  — 

"  Is  Surgeon  Yasui  here  ?  Surgeon  Ando  ?  " 

"I  am  Ando!  Yasui  is  also  here!"  was  the  im- 
mediate response.  I  did  not  expect  to  find  these 
friends  here,  but  simply  called  their  names  as  in  a 
dream,  the  names  so  dear  to  my  heart.  But  the 
strange,  mysterious  thread  that  tied  us  together  in 
friendship  drew  me  to  their  place  and  put  me  under 
their  care  —  a  thing  that  could  never  be  planned 
or  mapped  out  in  the  battle-field,  where  separation 
and  dispersion  is  so  universal  a  rule.  Heaven 
granted  me  a  chance  to  meet  them  in  my  time  of 
need.  At  this  unexpected  hearing  of  their  voices 
my  heart  beat  high. 

"Surgeon  Yasui!  Surgeon  Ando!" 

They  took  my  hands  and  stroked  my  forehead 
and  said:  "Well  done.  You  have  done  well." 

I  noticed  that  the  body  of  my  battalion  com- 
mander, Major  Kamimura,  was  lying  to  my  left. 
When  attacking  the  first  skirmish-trenches,  he  was 
standing  in  the  farthest  front  and  cheering  us  on. 
And  that  same  brave  officer  was  now  a  spiritless 
corpse  sleeping  an  eternal  sleep  here,  his  servant 
clinging  to  his  body,  crying  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 

Soon  I  was  bandaged  and  sent  to  the  rear,  and 
had  to  say  an  unwilling  farewell  to  the  two  surgeon 

252 


friends  whom  I  had  come  across  to  my  unexpected 
and  unbounded  joy! 

When  I  met  Surgeon  Yasui  later,  he  told  me 
something  of  my  condition  at  the  time  I  was  taken 
to  the  first  aid :  — 

"The  position  of  that  first  aid  station  was  such 
that  none  of  us  expected  to  find  any  of  the  wounded 
of  our  detachment  brought  there ;  yet  I  was  enabled 
to  take  care  of  you ;  that  is  the  strangest  of  strange 
happenings.  I  had  asked  about  you  of  the  wounded 
men  as  they  came  in,  and  all  said  that  you  must  be 
dead.  There  was  one  even  who  affirmed  that  you 
were  killed  below  the  wire-entanglements  of  Kikuan. 
So  I  had  concluded  that  I  should  never  see  you 
again  in  this  world  of  the  living,  but  wishing  to 
recover  your  body,  I  made  careful  inquiries  about 
where  you  were  killed  —  all  to  no  purpose.  Later, 
a  sergeant  by  the  name  of  Sadaoka  came  in,  and  I 
asked  him  about  you  and  got  the  answer  that  you 
had  been  killed  in  the  ravine  of  Kikuan.  At  once  I 
dispatched  some  hospital  orderlies  to  bring  your 
body  back  on  a  stretcher,  but  it  was  too  dark,  and 
the  enemy's  fire  was  still  violent,  and  they  came 
back  without  accomplishing  anything.  Still  anxious 
to  get  you,  I  sent  out  a  second  group  of  orderlies, 
who  brought  you  back,  still  living,  to  our  great  sur- 
prise and  joy.  At  the  first  glance  we  thought  that 
you  must  die  in  a  few  hours,  and  Surgeon  Ando 
and  I  looked  at  each  other  in  sorrow.  There- 

253 


fore,  when  we  sent  you  on  to  the  field  hospital, 
of  course  we  thought  it  was  an  eternal  good-by  in 
disguise. 

"  About  a  month  after  that  I  saw  Takesaburo 
Kondo,  who  had  rescued  you,  and  a  strange  coinci- 
dence it  was.  I  noticed  a  soldier  passing  our  first 
aid  station,  shouldering  a  shovel.  Suddenly  the  man 
fell  face  upward.  I  ran  to  the  spot  and  saw  that  it 
was  your  Takesaburo  Kondo.  He  was  a  special 
object  of  my  respect  and  love,  because  I  knew  that 
he  had  saved  you  out  of  the  enemy's  grip.  He  was 
still  breathing  faintly,  so  I  gave  him  a  drink  from 
my  water  bottle;  then  he  smiled  and  expired  in 
peace." 

Thus  the  giver  of  my  second  life,  Takesaburo 
Kondo,  lost  his  noble  life  by  a  stray  shot ! 

Our  first  general  attack  came  to  a  close  with 
these  horrors.  The  second  and  the  third  repeated 
similar  scenes  or  even  more  horrible  ones.  But  our 
army  was  not  discouraged;  on  the  contrary,  the 
repeated  failures  only  added  to  their  keen  deter- 
mination and  abundant  resourcefulness.  Our  army 
attacked  again  and  again  the  desperately  defend- 
ing enemy,  and  at  last  took  the  great  fortress.  I 
have  no  right  to  speak  about  the  investment  of  Port 
Arthur  after  this  first  assault.  There  are  others 
better  fitted  to  relate  that  great  chapter  of  the  war. 
For  about  three  hundred  days  after  this  I  was  kept' 

254 


in  bed,  unable  to  move  my  hands  or  to  stand  on  my 
feet.  But  in  the  agony  of  physical  pain  I  was  run- 
ning to  Liaotung  in  imagination,  picturing  to  my- 
self the  brave  and  loyal  officers  and  men  fighting 
gallantly  in  the  field.  And  on  the  second  day  of 
the  Happy  New  Year  of  the  38th  of  Meiji  I  heard 
the  news  that  the  great  fortress  of  Port  Arthur, 
considered  the  strongest  east  of  Suez,  and  the  for- 
midable base  for  the  Russian  policy  of  the  aggres- 
sion on  Eastern  Asia,  no  longer  able  to  resist  the 
tremendous  power  of  the  Imperial  forces,  had 
capitulated,  and  its  commanding  general  had  given 
himself  up  to  the  mercy  of  General  Nogi.  When 
I  heard  this  news,  not  only  I,  but  all  the  wounded 
who  had  taken  part  in  the  siege,  wept  while  we 
rejoiced.  The  bleached  white  bones  of  our  brave 
dead  that  filled  the  hills  and  valleys  of  Port  Arthur 
must  have  risen  and  danced  with  joy !  The  spirits 
of  those  loyal  ones  who  died  unconsoled,  crying 
"Revenge!"  or  "Port  Arthur!"  must  have  been 
lulled  to  eternal  rest  by  this  great  news. 

When  I  heard  of  the  capitulation  of  Port  Arthur, 
I  cried  with  an  overwhelming  joy,  and  at  the  same 
time  there  came  to  me  the  thought  of  the  great 
number  of  my  dead  comrades.  I  who  had  had  the 
misfortune  of  sacrificing  the  lives  of  so  many  of 
my  men  on  the  battle-field,  how  could  I  apologize 
to  their  loyal  spirits  ?  I  who  left  many  brethren  on 
the  field  and  came  back  alone  to  save  my  life, 

255 


how  could  I  see  without  shame  the  faces  of  their 
surviving  relatives  ? 

The  war  is  now  over,  the  storm  has  ceased !  The 
blood  of  brave  warriors  has  bought  this  peace.  The 
time  may  come  when  the  hills  of  Port  Arthur  are 
razed  to  the  ground  and  the  river  of  Liaotung  is 
dried  up,  but  the  time  will  never  come  when  the 
names  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  those  loyal 
officers  and  patriotic  soldiers  who  gave  their  lives 
to  the  sovereign  and  to  the  country  will  be  for- 
gotten. Their  names  shall  be  fragrant  for  a  thou- 
sand years  and  lighten  ten  thousand  ages;  their 
merits  posterity  shall  gratefully  remember  for  ever 
and  ever! 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A 
THE  IMPERIAL  RESCRIPT  ON  EDUCATION 

KNOW  ye,  Our  subjects: 

Our  Imperial  Ancestors  have  founded  Our  Empire 
on  a  basis  broad  and  everlasting  and  have  deeply  and 
firmly  implanted  virtue;  Our  subjects  ever  united  in 
loyalty  and  filial  piety  have  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion illustrated  the  beauty  thereof.  This  is  the  glory 
of  the  fundamental  character  of  Our  Empire,  and  herein 
also  lies  the  source  of  Our  education.  Ye,  Our  subjects, 
be  filial  to  your  parents,  affectionate  to  your  brothers 
and  sisters;  as  husbands  and  wives  be  harmonious,  as 
friends  true;  bear  yourselves  in  modesty  and  modera- 
tion; extend  your  benevolence  to  all;  pursue  learning 
and  cultivate  arts,  and  thereby  develop  intellectual 
faculties  and  perfect  moral  powers;  furthermore  ad- 
vance public  good  and  promote  common  interests;  al- 
ways respect  the  Constitution  and  observe  the  laws; 
should  emergency  arise,  offer  yourselves  courageously 
to  the  State;  and  thus  guard  and  maintain  the  pros- 
perity of  Our  Imperial  Throne  coeval  with  heaven  and 
earth.  So  shall  ye  not  only  be  Our  good  and  faithful 
subjects,  but  render  illustrious  the  best  traditions  of 
your  forefathers. 

The  way  here  set  forth  is  indeed  the  teaching  be- 

259 


queathed  by  Our  Imperial  Ancestors,  to  be  observed 
alike  by  Their  Descendants  and  subjects,  infallible  for 
all  ages  and  true  in  all  places.  It  is  Our  wish  to  lay  it 
to  heart  in  all  reverence,  in  common  with  you,  Our 
subjects,  that  we  may  all  thus  attain  to  the  same  virtue. 
The  3oth  day  of  the  loth  month  of  the  23d  year  of 
Meiji. 

[Imperial  Sign  Manual.  Imperial  Seal.] 


APPENDIX  B 

IMPERIAL  RESCRIPT  TO  THE  ARMY  AND 
NAVY 

THE  Army  of  this  country,  in  ancient  times,  stood 
from  generation  to  generation  under  the  supreme  com- 
mand of  the  Emperor.  More  than  two  thousand  five 
hundred  years  have  passed  since  the  time  when  the 
Emperor  Jimmu  suppressed  the  barbarian  tribes  of 
the  central  provinces,  and  established  himself  on  his 
Imperial  Throne.  The  expedition  was  under  the  su- 
preme command  of  the  Emperor  himself,  and  was 
composed  of  warriors  of  Otomo  and  Mononobe,  the 
most  illustrious  warrior-clans  of  the  day. 

Military  reorganization  often  was  necessitated  in 
subsequent  ages  by  the  vicissitudes  of  the  times  and  the 
needs  of  the  country's  wars;  but  throughout  Our  an- 
cient history,  the  Emperor  was  always  the  regular  com- 
mander. His  place  in  the  field  was  sometimes  taken  by 
the  queen  or  the  crown  prince,  but  the  supreme  com- 
mand of  the  Army  was  never  intrusted  to  a  subject. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  all  administrative  matters, 
whether  military  or  civil,  were  copied  from  China: 
six  garrisons  were  organized,  and  two  depots  for  horses, 
and  a  system  of  frontier  guards  were  likewise  estab- 
lished. The  organization  of  the  army  was  thus  excel- 

261 


lent  on  paper;  but  the  long  continuance  of  peace  ruined 
the  efficiency  of  the  army,  farmers  and  soldiers  became 
two  distinct  classes. 

The  warriors  imperceptibly  changed  into  a  profes- 
sional caste,  popularly  called  bushi,  the  principal  men 
of  which  became  the  permanent  leaders  of  the  army; 
and  the  general  chaos  of  the  national  life  placed  the 
chief  powers  of  the  Government  in  their  hands,  and 
kept  them  there  for  close  upon  seven  hundred  years. 

No  human  power  could  probably  have  arrested  this 
turn  of  Our  national  life;  and  yet  it  was  a  thing  much 
to  be  regretted  as  being  entirely  out  of  harmony  with 
Our  national  constitution  and  the  rules  laid  down  by 
Our  ancestors. 

After  the  periods  of  Kokwa  (A.  D.  1844)  and  Ka-ei 
(A.  D.  1848)  the  Government  of  the  Tokugawa  House 
became  too  feeble  to  bear  the  responsibilities  of  na- 
tional government,  and  a  critical  period  was  made 
more  critical  by  the  petitions  for  admission  and  inter- 
course which  came  from  foreign  nations.  These  cir- 
cumstances caused  great  anxiety  to  Our  Grandfather, 
the  Emperor  Ninko,  and  Our  Father,  the  late  Emperor 
Komei.  When,  not  long  afterwards,  We  ascended  the 
throne  in  Our  youth,  the  Shogun  Tokugawa  returned 
his  authority  into  Our  hands,  and  the  lesser  Barons 
likewise  restored  to  Us  their  territories.  Thus,  in  less 
than  one  year,  the  whole  country  came  once  more  under 
Our  direct  control,  and  We  were  thus  enabled  to  restore 
again  the  old  system  of  Government.  This  great  result 
was  due  in  part  to  the  meritorious  services  of  Our  loyal 
subjects  of  all  classes  who  aided  Us  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  great  work,  and  partly  to  the  mercy  which 
262 


every  Emperor  of  this  country  has  felt  for  Our  people; 
but  the  basis  of  the  whole  work  now  successfully  ac- 
complished has  been  the  fact  that  Our  people  them- 
selves have  a  just  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong  and 
rightly  apprehend  the  meaning  of  true  loyalty. 

During  the  fifteen  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
then,  We  have  reorganized  Our  military  and  naval  sys- 
tem, and  formed  Our  present  army  and  navy  in  order 
to  make  Our  country  glorious.  The  army  and  navy  is 
now  under  Our  direct  command,  and  though  partial 
commands  may  from  time  to  time  be  intrusted  to  some 
of  Our  subjects,  the  supreme  command  will  always  re- 
main with  Us.  We  desire  you  to  remember  this  fact, 
and  to  let  your  descendants  know  that  the  Emperor 
is  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  so  that 
the  country  may  never  again  have  to  go  through  the 
ignominy  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

We  are  your  Commander-in-Chief  and  as  such  We 
rely  upon  you,  as  upon  Our  own  hands,  and  We  desire 
you  to  look  upon  Us  as  your  Head,  so  that  the  relation 
between  Us  may  be  one  of  absolute  and  sincere  confi- 
dence and  trust.  Whether  We  perform  Our  duty  or 
not,  depends  entirely  on  the  manner  in  which  you  per- 
form yours.  If  Our  country  fails  to  stand  high  in  the 
opinion  of  other  nations,  We  desire  you  to  share  in  Our 
sorrow.  If  it  rises  with  honor,  We  will  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  it  with  you.  Stand  firm  in  your  duty:  assist  Us  in 
protecting  the  country;  and  the  result  must  be  the  pros- 
perity of  the  nation,  and  the  enhancement  of  Our  coun- 
try's reputation. 

This  is  not  all  We  wish  to  say  to  you.  We  have  more 
advice  for  you,  as  follows:-^- 

263 


1.  The  principal  duty  of  soldiers  is  loyalty  to  Sover- 
eign and  Country.  It  is  not  probable  that  any  one  born 
in  this  country  will  be  wanting  in  patriotism;  but  for 
soldiers  this  virtue  is  so  essential  that  unless  a  man  be 
strong  in  patriotism  he  will  be  unfitted  for  this  service. 
Disloyal  men  are  like  dolls,  however  expert  and  skillful 
they  may  be  in  their  military  art  and  science;  and  a 
troop  which  is  well  trained  and  led,  but  lacks  patriot- 
ism, is  like  a  band  without  a  chief.   The  protection  of 
the  country  and  the  maintenance  of  its  prestige  must 
rest  upon  Our  military  and  naval  forces:  their  effi- 
ciency or  deterioration  must  affect,  for  good  or  for  ill, 
the  fate  of  Our  nation;  and  it  is  therefore  your  duty  not 
to  entangle  yourselves  with  social  matters  or  political 
questions,  but  strictly  to  confine  yourselves  to  the  ob- 
servance of  your  principal  duty,  which  is  loyalty,  remem- 
bering always  that  duty  is  heavier  than  a  mountain 
(and  so  to  be  much  regarded),  while  death  is  lighter 
than  a  feather  (and  therefore  to  be  despised).   Never 
spoil  your  good  name  by  a  violation  of  good  faith. 

2.  Soldiers  must  be  polite  in  their  behavior  and 
ways.    In  the  army  and  navy,  there  are  hierarchical 
ranks  from  the  Marshal  to  the  private  or  bluejacket 
which  bind  together  the  whole  for  purposes  of  com- 
mand, and  there  are  also  the  gradations  of  seniority 
within  the  same  rank.  The  junior  must  obey  the  senior, 
the  inferior  must  take  orders  from  the  superior,  who 
transmits  to  them  Our  direct  command,  and  inferior 
and  junior  officers  and  men  must  pay  respect  to  their 
superiors  and  seniors,  even  though  they  be  not  their 
direct  superiors  and  seniors.    Superiors  must  never  be 
haughty  or  proud  towards  those  of  a  lower  rank,  and 

264 


severity  of  discipline  must  be  reserved  for  exceptional 
cases.  In  all  other  cases  superiors  must  treat  those  be- 
neath them  with  kindness  and  especial  clemency,  so 
that  all  men  may  unite  as  one  man  in  the  service  of  the 
country.  If  you  do  not  observe  courtesy  of  behavior, 
if  inferiors  treat  their  superiors  with  disrespect,  or  su- 
periors their  inferiors  with  harshness,  if,  in  a  word,  the 
harmonious  relations  between  superiors  and  inferiors 
be  lost,  you  will  be  not  only  playing  havoc  with  the 
army,  but  committing  serious  crimes  against  the  country. 

3.  It  is  incumbent  on  soldiers  to  be  brave  and  cour- 
ageous.   These  two  virtues  have  in  this  country  been 
always  held  in  very  high  esteem,  and  are  indeed  indis- 
pensable to  Our  nation:  soldiers,  whose  profession  it  is 
to  fight  against  the  foe,  should  never  for  one  instant 
forget  that  they  must  be  brave.    But  there  is  a  true 
bravery  and  a  false  one,  which  is  totally  different,  and 
the  rough  behavior  of  youth  cannot  be  called  true 
bravery.   A  man  of  arms  must  always  act  with  reason 
and  make  his  plans  with  sang-froid  and  care.    You 
must  never  despise  even  a  small  body  of  the  enemy; 
on  the  other  hand,  you  must  never  be  afraid  of  large 
numbers;  it  is  in  the  accomplishment  of  duty  that  true 
bravery  lies.    Those  who  thus  appreciate  true  bravery 
will  always  behave  with  moderation   towards  others 
and  will  earn  the  respect  of  all  men.   If  you  act  with 
violence  you  are  not  truly  brave,  and  will  be  hated  by 
others  like  a  tiger  or  a  wolf. 

4.  Soldiers  are  required  to  be  faithful  and  right- 
eous.   Faithfulness  and  righteousness  are  among  the 
ordinary  duties  of  men :  the  man  of  arms  can  scarcely 
exist  in  the  army  without  them.  By  the  former  is  meant 

265 


the  keeping  of  one's  word,  by  the  latter,  the  accom- 
plishment of  duty.  Hence,  if  you  wish  to  be  faithful 
and  righteous,  you  must  first  consider  whether  a  thing 
may  be  done  or  not.  If  you  promise  to  do  something 
the  nature  of  which  is  uncertain,  and  so  entangle  your- 
self with  others,  you  will  be  in  an  embarrassing  situation 
which  may  drive  you  to  become  unfaithful  or  unright- 
eous; and  in  such  a  case  you  will  have  no  remedy,  but 
only  vain  regrets. 

Before  embarking  on  any  action,  you  must  first  con- 
sider whether  it  is  right  or  wrong  to  do  such  a  thing, 
and  then  take  a  firm  stand  upon  reason.  If  you  have 
reason  to  think  that  you  cannot  keep  your  word,  or 
that  the  duty  is  too  heavy,  it  will  be  wise  if  you  refrain 
from  action.  The  history  of  all  ages  gives  us  examples 
of  the  truth  of  this:  many  great  men  and  heroes  have 
perished  or  dishonored  themselves  by  trying  to  be 
faithful  and  righteous  in  small  things  and  mistaking 
fundamental  reason,  or  by  observing  individual  faith- 
fulness at  the  expense  of  justice.  You  must  take  heed 
not  to  fall  in  this  way. 

5.  It  is  incumbent  upon  soldiers  to  be  simple  and 
frugal.  If  you  do  not  observe  simplicity  and  frugality, 
you  will  become  weak  and  false-hearted,  and  accus- 
tom yourself  to  luxurious  habits  which  lead  to  cupidity. 
In  that  case  your  mind  will  become  ignoble,  and  neither 
your  loyalty  nor  your  bravery  will  avail  to  save  you 
from  the  contempt  and  hatred  of  your  fellow  men. 
This  is  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of  human  misery, 
and  if  this  evil  be  once  allowed  to  seize  hold  of  the  army 
and  navy,  it  will  promptly  spread  like  an  epidemic,  and 
all  esprit  de  corps  and  discipline  will  be  broken  through. 

266 


We  have  been  very  much  concerned  about  this,  and 
have  issued  disciplinary  regulations  designed  for  the 
prevention  of  luxury;  and  now  Our  constant  concern 
leads  Us  to  tender  you  this  advice  which  We  desire 
you  to  keep  in  mind. 

The  above  Five  Articles  must  never  for  a  moment 
be  neglected  by  you,  and  you  will  require  a  true  heart 
to  put  them  into  practice.  The  Five  Articles  are  the 
spirit  of  the  man  of  arms,  and  the  true  heart  is  the  spirit 
of  the  Five  Articles.  If  the  heart  be  not  true,  good  words 
and  good  conduct  are  nothing  but  useless  external  or- 
naments. If  the  heart  be  true,  you  can  accomplish 
everything. 

The  Five  Articles  form  indeed  the  ordinary  path  of 
human  society,  and  there  is  nothing  in  them  that  can- 
not be  easily  practiced  and  observed. 

If  you  serve  Our  country  in  accordance  with  this 
Our  Advice  you  will  give  satisfaction  not  only  to  the 
Nation  but  to  Ourselves. 


APPENDIX  C 
IMPERIAL  PROCLAMATION  OF  WAR 

WE,  by  the  Grace  of  Heaven,  Emperor  of  Japan,  seated 
on  the  Throne  occupied  by  the  same  Dynasty  from 
time  immemorial,  do  hereby  make  proclamation  to  all 
Our  loyal  and  brave  subjects  as  follows:  — 

We  hereby  declare  war  against  Russia  and  We 
command  our  army  and  navy  to  carry  on  hostilities 
against  that  Empire  with  all  their  strength,  and 
We  also  command  all  Our  competent  authorities  to 
make  every  effort  in  pursuance  of  their  duties,  and  in 
accordance  with  their  powers,  to  attain  the  national 
aim  with  all  the  means  within  the  limits  of  the  law  of 
nations. 

We  have  always  deemed  it  essential  to  international 
relations  and  made  it  our  constant  aim  to  promote  the 
pacific  progress  of  Our  Empire  in  civilization,  to 
strengthen  Our  friendly  ties  with  other  states,  and  to 
establish  a  state  of  things  which  would  maintain  en- 
during peace  in  the  Extreme  East  and  assure  the  future 
security  of  Our  Dominion  without  injury  to  the  rights 
and  interests  of  other  Powers.  Our  competent  authori- 
ties have  also  performed  their  duties  in  obedience  to 
Our  will,  so  that  our  relations  with  the  Powers  have 
been  steadily  growing  in  cordiality.  It  was  thus  en- 

268 


tirely  against  Our  expectation  that  we  have  unhappily 
come  to  open  hostilities  against  Russia. 

The  integrity  of  Korea  is  a  matter  of  constant  con- 
cern to  this  Empire,  not  only  because  of  Our  traditional 
relations  with  that  country,  but  because  the  separate 
existence  of  Korea  is  essential  to  the  safety  of  Our 
Realm.  Nevertheless,  Russia,  in  disregard  of  her  solemn 
treaty  pledges  to  China,  her  repeated  assurances  to 
other  Powers,  is  still  in  occupation  of  Manchuria  and 
has  consolidated  and  strengthened  her  hold  upon  three 
provinces,  and  is  bent  upon  their  final  annexation. 
And  since  the  absorption  of  Manchuria  by  Russia 
would  render  it  impossible  to  maintain  the  integrity  of 
Korea  and  would  in  addition  compel  the  abandonment 
of  all  hope  for  peace  in  the  Extreme  East,  We  deter- 
mined in  those  circumstances  to  settle  the  question  by 
negotiation,  and  to  secure  thereby  permanent  peace. 
With  that  object  in  view,  Our  competent  authorities, 
by  Our  order,  made  proposals  to  Russia,  and  frequent 
conferences  were  held  during  the  course  of  six  months. 
Russia,  however,  never  met  such  proposals  in  a  spirit 
of  conciliation,  but  by  her  wanton  delays  put  off  the 
settlement  of  the  question  and  by  ostensibly  advocat- 
ing peace  on  the  one  hand  while  she  was  on  the  other 
extending  her  naval  and  military  preparations,  sought 
to  accomplish  her  own  selfish  designs. 

We  cannot  in  the  least  admit  that  Russia  had  from 
the  first  any  serious  or  genuine  desire  for  peace.  She 
has  rejected  the  proposals  of  Our  Government;  the 
safety  of  Korea  is  in  danger,  the  vital  interests  of 
Our  Empire  are  menaced.  The  guarantees  for  the 
future  which  We  have  failed  to  secure  by  peaceful 

269 


negotiations  We  can  only  now  seek  by  an  appeal  to 
arms. 

It  is  Our  earnest  wish  that  by  the  loyalty  and  valor 
of  Our  faithful  subjects,  peace  may  soon  be  perma- 
nently restored  and  the  glory  of  Our  Empire  preserved. 

[Imperial  Sign  Manual.] 

[Privy  Seal.] 
February  10,  1904. 

[Signed  by  the  Minister  of  State.] 


flittcrsibc 

CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   .  S   •   A 


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NTRAL  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

iversity  of  California,  San  Diego 

DATE  DUE 


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